Tishma School and Center for Autism was established to pioneer a school-based intensive behavioral intervention for children with autism in Israel, designed to substantially improve their communication, learning and life skills; providing them with a more dignified and self-sufficient life. Our aim is to help these children, as far as is possible in each case, become integral members of wider society.
Tishma's intervention is based upon the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), the therapeutic method for children with autism with the greatest amount of scientific evidence of success worldwide. Our highly trained staff provide each child with an intensive, tailor-made program, designed to optimize their progress.
Since opening in January 2001 in one room in central Jerusalem with just two children, we have expanded rapidly and now serve over 40 students, aged 3-17, in a full-to-bursting rented property in the south of the city.
The emotional cost of autism cannot be measured, but the social cost, including education, institutional care and related social services is substantial. Research worldwide has shown that a concentrated therapeutic investment in children with autism at an early age reaps massive financial and social rewards later on. The increasing rate of autism diagnoses in Israel makes the investment in, and development of, reliable interventions on behalf of children with autism, such as Tishma, all the more pressing. Your support is critical if we are to be able to provide children with autism in Israel with the opportunity of a dignified and self-sufficient life they surely deserve.