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“It’s Like Stealing What Should be Theirs.” An Exploration of the Experiences and Perspectives of Parents and Educational Practitioners on Hebrew–English Bilingualism for Jewish Autistic Children

Author(s): Sher, David Ariel; Gibson, Jenny L.; Brown, Wendy V.

Date: 2021

Topics: Disability and Special Needs, Jewish Continuity, Language, Hebrew, Interviews, Main Topic: Other, Schools: Primary / Elementary, Schools: Non-Jewish, Jewish Schools, Jewish Pupils, Education: Special Education

Abstract: Parents of autistic children are routinely advised to raise them monolingually, despite potential negative effects of monolingualism and no evidence of harm from bilingualism. There is, however, limited research on this topic. This study explored experiences and perspectives of educational practitioners (‘practitioners’) and parents of Hebrew–English bilingual autistic children on bilingualism and monolingualism. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we explored the experiences of 22 parents and 31 practitioners using both oral and written interviews. The analysis revealed that religious continuity is a crucial factor in bilingual decision-making. Unexpectedly, both practitioners and parents felt that having to adopt a monolingual approach was unjust, in line with conceptions of forced monolingualism. This article recommends awareness training on community languages and research in other communities.

‘We’ve come a very, very, long way’ Overcoming stigma of autism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis within the UK Jewish community

Author(s): Sher, David Ariel; Gibson, Jenny L.; Sher, Hannah Ella

Date: 2022

Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Students, Jewish Schools, Disability and Special Needs, Education: Special Education

Abstract: Autistic people contend with high levels of stigma in many cultures worldwide. There is a scarcity of literature on stigma in relation to autism in faith communities and virtually no research focussing on this topic in Jewish communities. In this study, we aimed to explore experiences of stigma towards autism and sought views on what steps have and can be taken to reduce such stigma. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 participants within the UK Jewish community, in both mainstream and specialist autistic schools. Interviews were conducted over 2 months in 2020. During analysis, 5 superordinate (central) themes and 13 subordinate themes were abstracted. Superordinate themes included ‘Stigma not specific to the Jewish community’; ‘Considerable strides made’; ‘More a lack of knowledge or denial than stigma’; ‘Fear of stigma is a real concern but not widely prevalent’; and ‘Potent factors that reduce stigma in the Jewish community’. We recommend workshops for greater awareness and training for teachers and parents on autism and autistic children’s experiences. We also recommend the formation of specialist autism schools in other communities and promotion of positive narratives concerning autistic people, as this successfully reduced stigma within the Jewish community.

Self-concept in young adults with a learning disability from the Jewish community

Author(s): Bunning, Karen; Steel, Gabriela

Date: 2007

Topics: Disability and Special Needs, Main Topic: Other, Jewish Identity, Interviews, Education: Special Education

Abstract: A small pilot study was conducted to explore the self-concept of young people with a learning disability from a Jewish community in an inner city area. Four young people participated in the project. All attended a college dedicated to the further education of people with special needs from the Jewish community. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the participants. A low-technology augmentative communication strategy called ‘Talking Mats’ was employed [J. Murphy and L. Cameron (2002b)Talking Mats and learning disability: a low-tech resource to help people to express their views and feelings. Scotland, University of Stirling] to cater for the participant's varying communication needs. The participant placed relevant symbols on a mat to capture views expressed during interview. Three key themes emerged from the data: ‘being young’, ‘having a learning disability’ and ‘being Jewish’. The narratives associated with each theme were closely intertwined. Membership of the Jewish community was central to the concept of self. The research highlighted the importance of context and cultural belonging to the construction of identity. Use of ‘Talking Mats’ during interview proved an accessible format, both for exploring the views of people with learning disabilities, and providing them with feedback about the research.

Prevalence of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders Among Strictly Orthodox Jewish Children in London

Author(s): Lindsey, Caroline; Frosh, Stephen; Loewenthal, Kate; Spitzer, Esther

Date: 2005

Topics: Main Topic: Other, Children, Education, Haredi / Strictly Orthodox Jews, Surveys, Education: Special Education

Abstract: Teacher and parent ratings of emotional and behavioural disorders were made for children aged 5-15 years in the strictly orthodox Jewish community in North London, on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). We obtained 369 sets of teacher ratings and 226 parent ratings. Our parent ratings generally reflected less disturbance than did parent ratings in the national samples reported by Meltzer and colleagues (Meltzer, Gatward, Corbin, Goodman, & Ford, 2003; Meltzer, Gatward, Goodman, & Ford, 2000). Our teacher ratings reflected similar levels of disturbance to teacher ratings in the national sample, except that the older boys in this sample were rated as more disturbed by their teachers. Teacher ratings of disturbance were associated with perceived Special Educational Needs (SENs), and it was noted that statutory remedial help was said to be needed particularly urgently for older boys. In this community there is negligible statutory educational funding and remedial support for older boys is said to be particularly under-resourced. The strictly orthodox Jewish community is characterized by large family size and high levels of economic deprivation, and it might be expected that there would be high levels of associated emotional and behavioural disorders. The relatively low levels of behaviour disturbance found were suggested to be the result of moderating factors such as high levels of family cohesion, social support and religiosity.

Prevalence of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders among Strictly Orthodox Jewish Pre-School Children in London

Author(s): Lindsey, Caroline; Frosh, Stephen; Loewenthal, Kate; Spitzer, Esther

Date: 2003

Topics: Main Topic: Other, Children, Education, Haredi / Strictly Orthodox Jews, Surveys, Education: Special Education

Abstract: Although the frequency and importance of emotional and behavioural difficulties in the pre-school period are well established in the general population, relatively little is known about the situation among members of some specific minority groups. This article reports data from a study of 262 children living in the strictly orthodox Jewish community of North London, whose teachers and parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Rates of emotional and behavioural disorder, comparisons between parents' and teachers' ratings, predictors of difficulties, gender differences and a comparison with data from a general community sample are provided. The community is characterized by considerable family cohesion, with the overwhelming majority of children living with both parents. It is also characterized by very large family sizes and high levels of economic privation. Our data show that teachers are more likely than parents to rate these pre-school children as having difficulties, especially of the `hyperactive' kind, and that the levels of such difficulties are probably epidemiologically significant. There is some evidence that the strictly orthodox Jewish children had lower rates of disorder than is found in the general population. There were few relevant predictive factors of difficulties, although children already perceived by their teachers as having `special educational needs' had a heightened risk.

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