“Ima!” cried Yaakov one day as he ran straight into his mother’s arms. Yael Edelshein stopped everything, gasped in shock, and burst into tears.
She never thought this day would come.
Month prior, Yael was a mother at wit’s end. Her six year old son Yaakov was miserable at school. He spent most of the day sitting on the side, sobbing to himself for hours. Much more pressing though, Yaakov never uttered a word in his entire life. Though they tried every therapy, nothing helped. Then, when Yaakov turned six, a therapist recommended his parents try switching schools. With nothing else to lose, Yael and her husband decided to give it a chance.
At first, Yaakov was slow to adjust to the new environment. Then, with extremely patient teachers along with cutting edge technology, Yaakov miraculously opened up. But nothing was more miraculous, nothing could make Yael more grateful than the day that Yaakov ran straight into her arms and said his first word: Ima.
Yael will never be able to stop thanking the staff at Sulam for not only giving her son the ability to speak and integrate successfully into society, but for giving him the tools he needs to live a happier and more empowering life.
Sulam’s mission is to enable children with disabilities to achieve their maximum functioning potential, with the ultimate goal being successful integration into society. Just this year, seventy-four students were transferred out of Sulam and successfully admitted into mainstream schools. Click here to donate to Sulam and give children like Yaakov the education they need to overcome their unique challenges and greet the future with confidence.
