Tsad Kadima’s vision is to support people with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities throughout their lives, from infancy to adulthood. When a special needs child is born, a new family is born as well, with new and difficult challenges to face.
Cerebral palsy is the result of brain injury or brain malformation. People with cerebral palsy have a physical impairment, which affects movement and/or speech. The movement problems vary from barely noticeable to extremely severe. Among some, this condition also includes cognitive disabilities. There is no cure for cerebral palsy.
Tsad Kadima aspires to help the children and their families from the very first step. Our educational frameworks span from daycare centers for infants, kindergartens, elementary and junior-high schools, through adult day centers.
The Conductive Education approach, which is the guiding light of our professional work, is a unique paradigm for rehabilitation and treatment of infants, children and adults with cerebral palsy. It provides a model that children with incurable conditions can change and develop given the necessary environment, skillful mediators (Conductors) and a conductive tool box (the needed pedagogy) together with constantly instilling motivation.
Many people with cerebral palsy face significant barriers that impede their integration in various aspects of life and community living. They often feel helpless, due to being given too much direct assistance as opposed to learning how to take care of themselves. This has created a pattern that enhances their reliance on others, rather than fostering their independence, thus establishing their “disability.” Today we know that individuals with cerebral palsy, despite their disability, can learn to succeed on their own if provided the skills to develop their own unique way of communicating and doing things for themselves.
Our main purpose is to enable the participants to become actively involved, reach a level of functional independence and integrate into the various normative life frameworks and settings, be it school, social or community.