PARENTS PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS

Like all parenting, raising autistic children is a rollercoaster. However, it also involves the unique challenges of special needs parenting, requiring extraordinary attention and care. While creating opportunities for personal growth and empowerment, this journey can significantly intensify parental stress. Children with autism perceive the world differently, sensing things more intensely or barely at all, which can make their environment feel overwhelming. They often struggle to recognize and interpret the perspective of others and to navigate complex emotional and social situations.
Parents, alongside educational institutions and extended family, shoulder the responsibility of mediating, explaining, assisting, and adapting to help their autistic children thrive both at home and in broader social settings. Research consistently demonstrates that engaged parents significantly enhance therapeutic outcomes and accelerate their children's progress. When professionals maintain transparency and build trust with parents, the resulting partnership not only improves cooperation but maximizes the child's developmental and functional potential.

OTI - the Israeli Autism Association's professional teams implement cutting-edge research and best practices, establishing it as one of Israel's premier organizations for autism therapy. A cornerstone of OTI's mission is providing parents with expert guidance and resources. This commitment reflects the organization's developmental-integrative approach—a comprehensive methodology that addresses every aspect of a child's functioning while recognizing parents and family members as crucial influences. By seamlessly blending professional therapeutic frameworks with robust parental support, OTI creates a powerful catalyst that enhances children's abilities and fosters their successful integration into their natural environment.

A Whole Greater than the Sum of its Parts
Yael Leviel, a trained social worker with a Master's degree in therapy, has been an OTI instructor for 15 years. She articulates OTI's distinctive philosophy, highlighting how the organization places the parent-child bond at the very heart of effective therapeutic intervention.

"OTI's approach acknowledges the profound influence of social and cultural factors on young children, especially children on the autistic spectrum," she says. "Parents stand as the most influential presence in a child's life, fundamentally shaping their development and serving as the primary catalysts for education and transformation. This reality makes the alliance between therapeutic professionals, educational frameworks, and parents not merely important but essential. Only through this powerful synergy can a truly effective and holistic approach emerge—one that transcends its individual components to nurture the child's complete development and wellbeing.

"The last thing we would ever want is to exclude parents from the therapeutic process," Leviel emphasizes. "This is precisely why OTI places parental integration at the very core of our approach, bringing in seasoned professionals who provide parents with invaluable guidance. Parents not only need this direction—they hunger for it—as they work to refine and perfect the educational and therapeutic support for their children."

What does OTI Offer Parents?
"OTI offers a comprehensive professional support system that includes guidance, emotional support, and specialized training—all designed to maximize parental involvement in their children's therapeutic journey. This includes empowering parents through decision-making processes and helping them discover the most effective approaches that fulfill their essential role as parents. Parents not only need but deserve to have their opinions, desires, and values heard and respected. Our professional teams are deeply committed to incorporating these parental perspectives into our multidisciplinary approach. This educational-therapeutic framework, which places significant emphasis on the parental voice, forms the cornerstone of our professional philosophy, with both profound ethical underpinnings and practical applications.

Our approach consistently demonstrates its effectiveness in real-world settings. Perhaps the most compelling evidence is OTI's recognition as an official service provider for Israel's Ministry of Health, which has embraced our pioneering model that views parental engagement as essential to children's therapeutic development. This represents a groundbreaking advancement without precedent in our national healthcare system."

What is the Feedback from Parents?
"Parental responses vary greatly. Some initially struggle to accept their child's diagnosis. Others withdraw and reject assistance, while some adopt a stance of concealment due to deeply rooted social or cultural stigmas. Many parents don't fully realize how to utilize the invaluable resource of 'parental guidance'—a space specifically designed for them. For years, as they focus intensely on their children's care and development, parents rarely prioritize their own needs.
Parents deserve a place where they feel truly seen, where their needs and emotions are acknowledged, and where their priorities matter. Some need time to process this journey. This is precisely why our professional teams emphasize parental guidance as a crucial component—it serves as a catalyst for parents to recognize and address their own needs within their evolving reality.

This central mission guides everything we do: seeing the world through parents' eyes and empowering them as the primary advocates with profound impact on their child's development. Simultaneously, we deeply respect that parents know their children best. We approach them as the true experts on their children and learn from their insights, fostering meaningful connections that benefit the child, the parents, and our professional team alike."
A Lifelong Journey

"We believe that navigating autism is a marathon, not a sprint.
Our professional philosophy embraces a non-judgmental approach toward parents, committed to supporting children and their families from initial diagnosis through adulthood. We provide comprehensive guidance across all life domains—education, leisure activities, social relationships, employment opportunities, and beyond—all aimed at fostering fulfilling and dignified lives. Through this sustained support, we help children and adolescents on the spectrum not only become integrated members of their communities but also emerge as productive citizens who make meaningful contributions to society."

Resilience Through Parenthood
Among OTI's flagship parent-child programs is the "Resilience for the Spectrum", a structured group program for parents of three- to seven-year-olds on the autism spectrum. Developed by Prof. Danny Hamiel, Nilly Cohen Aronson and Nurit Gershon, it has been running for over a decade, helping parents develop mental resilience and equipping them with strategies to manage challenging behaviors in their children. Its approach is integrative, combining a variety of treatment methods and psychological and educational/therapeutic tools and coping strategies to provide professional skills, encourage parental reflectivity and improve mentalization. During the pandemic lockdowns, the program was adapted into Resilience during COVID. It was modified again after October 7, providing families with tools to navigate the challenging times.

Research has demonstrated the program's effectiveness in significantly enhancing parents' overall mental resilience. Participants also report notable improvement in their children's emotional and behavioral regulation. To date, more than 450 parents of children in OTI's communication kindergartens have completed the program.

"As soon as we heard about the program, we knew we had to be part of it," says Helena Tenenbaum, who participated last year with her partner. "It was the first framework that my partner and I found which acknowledged and empowered us both as active participants in the process—a completely different experience from anything we had previously encountered as parents of two children on the spectrum."

What was the Program Like?
"It was a truly meaningful experience for our family," she reflects. "The program created a safe, supportive space where parents could openly share experiences, receive practical guidance, and improve our parenting approaches. The variety of tools we gained helped us adjust our parenting methods, recognize challenges, and develop workable solutions.

"While most families raising children with special needs receive some form of parental counseling, it's typically in one-on-one sessions that remain mostly child-focused," she explains. "This program was different because, for the first time, we parents became the focus—exploring how we create environments, handle our own emotions, and support our children through their challenges.

"Hearing from fathers was especially valuable for me," she adds. "While mothers often share more readily, fathers tend to be more reserved. Through these group discussions, I gained important insights into how fathers think, which improved my understanding of my own partner. This made a real difference in our relationship and helped maintain balance in our family. We're not just raising our children with autism—we have other children who need us, plus a marriage to nurture.
"As parents with some experience, the program also gave us a chance to support newer parents just starting out, sharing perspectives that come with time."

Support for Fathers in a Relaxed Atmosphere
Another successful OTI initiative is Espresso, the Spectrum and What's Inbetween, a support group for fathers of children on the autism spectrum. This program addresses a specific need within Israel's Arab community, where open conversations about parenting and emotional experiences have traditionally been limited.
"I recognized a critical need among fathers in Arab society for a space where they could truly be themselves," explains Abdallah Rayan, a psychologist and area manager at Qalansuwa kindergartens in OTI's North Sharon unit. "In our culture, men often feel constrained from sharing difficulties or expressing emotions. When their child receives an autism diagnosis, fathers experience a complex mix of feelings—shock, fear, worry, shame, and frequently a sense of helplessness or isolation. Yet in Arab society, fathers are expected to remain steadfast as the family's foundation. Our support and learning group addresses this gap by creating a safe environment where fathers can connect, share experiences, gain understanding, and build strength together."

The group meets on Saturdays in a casual setting over coffee, which helps dissolve social barriers and encourages participants to open up about both the challenges and rewards of raising children with autism. "The transformation happens gradually," Rayan notes. "Men who barely spoke during their first sessions eventually share their deepest concerns and daily struggles, as well as their moments of joy and accomplishment. What began as a support group has evolved into something more meaningful—a genuine community of fathers helping fathers."

A Group of Equals
OTI extends its support as children grow into adolescence and adulthood. One significant initiative is the three-year Parent Preparation Course for Youngsters with Autism, created in partnership with organizations including My Piece of the Puzzle, Hiburim, Effie-Asperger Israel, Seeing Far, and Shibolim. This comprehensive program combines expert lectures, meetings with autistic adults, and small group discussions led by specialists. Topics cover essential areas such as identity formation, independence, social skills, relationships, sexuality, and the transition to adulthood—including legal rights and opportunities for military or national service.

"This program provided us with crucial knowledge and expanded our understanding of the options available for our children's future," explains Hila Levi-Litvinov, mother of two sons on the autism spectrum. "We benefited from insights shared by diverse professionals—social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, researchers, and military personnel. They delivered valuable information in a well-organized format with a clear structure, giving us a comprehensive overview that enabled us to make informed decisions about suitable military service and career paths for our sons—choices that ultimately support their independence.
"Beyond the practical knowledge, the program fostered a sense of connection and community among parents. I'm convinced that structured guidance like this is essential for families raising children with special needs. It provides us with the necessary tools to prepare our children for meaningful, independent lives."

In collaboration with OTI