Monday, March 12, 2012

Kids with Autism at Synagogue on Purim? Not a Prayer, Right?

Wonderful piece by Amy Lennard Goehner from Huffington Post.

I celebrated the Jewish holiday Purim last week at my synagogue. And Purim, along with a host of other Jewish holidays, will never be the same for me.
Though I attend services at my synagogue regularly, it has never once occurred to me to bring along my older son, Nate, who has autism. To imagine Nate sitting quietly in his seat for 90 minutes, not talking, not eating, and listening to words he can't understand (and that's just the English) -- is simply unimaginable. And that includes the kid-centered holiday services, where the cacophony of joyful sounds is anything but music to the ears of anyone with sensory issues. So I've always chalked up "going to synagogue" as just another family event which our whole family could not enjoy.
Until now.

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