“For the first time in my life, I have friends”

“My name is Nitzan Simon. I am 23 years old And I live in Ramat Gan. At the end of first grade I started to notice that I was not like the other children, when a camp instructor sang a song about stars and a man ascending to heaven and all the children laughed and only I did not, so I realized for the first time that I was different. This experience occupied me for many days in my adolescence. I have always had difficulty making social connections. I always needed encouragement from my parents otherwise I would be content with my inner world and I would not meet other people.

It has never been easy for me. Coping outside the family cell was a task that made it very difficult for me both on a personal and physical level. I have a very great difficulty in sensory regulation and it is something that is extreme in social encounters that are not understood and are spontaneous. These encounters created very harsh reactions for me – either I would erupt or I would shut myself in a bubble. The truth is that until the age of 14, the age at which I was diagnosed, the social world was not lacking for me.

In eighth grade I was diagnosed with Asperger’s and then I also realized that I needed social contexts but that I had no ability to produce them. My immediate environment and friends at school did not even know how to deal with my diversity. Slowly my parents gave me an answer. And I was able to understand the importance of friends and interpersonal relationships.

There is no doubt that the connection to the Effi Asperger Association first introduced me to the peer group. For the first time in my life I met a group of people who are facing difficulties similar to my own. First time I could open my heart and know that someone else understands my difficulties, what I am facing and that he can look at things in my glasses without judging me or without telling me it is right or wrong.

“Epic is my protected place, the safe haven that gives me tools to deal with this life without judging me, it surrounds me with people I can call friends for the first time.”

my name is Renata Hazinsky I am 21 years old from Raanana And I really, really, really like playing the piano. The truth is that for as long as I can remember I have had ‘strange behaviors’.

When I was almost two years old, my parents took me to the Child Development Center because I had very different behaviors from the other children. There we were diagnosed on the autistic continuum. I did not speak or communicate until the age of five I did not even say the word mother or father, but in my childhood I always sang and hummed, and at the age of 6.5 my parents found me a piano teacher who is my teacher even today.

Playing is something that has always helped me, both on a mental level and on an emotional level. As a kid in elementary school I had loads and loads of negative experiences with kids who always humiliated and harassed me. They had no awareness of my syndrome. In high school things changed a bit for the better, but I still hadn’t really found myself. Effie Asperger’s Association has brought me to a place with people like me where I am equal among equals.

Here I can initiate and receive the social help I so desperately need. I have a very great sense of security in being part of an association. I feel like I came to a loving and supportive home and it changed my life from end to end. I’m no longer an outsider. “

On January 21, the Efi Asperger Israel Association will mark the 20th anniversary of its establishment in a special virtual event with the participation of parents, alumni and young people currently participating in its activities, principals and team members. Asi Israeloff will direct the event and Aviv Geffen will give a lecture in which he will direct and tell the behind-the-scenes story of some of his songs.

The panels of the conference will deal with the ways in which young men and women with Asperger syndrome are integrated in the social, professional-occupational and family world, the conclusions that can be drawn from the 20 years of activity and how to deal with the unique difficulties of the corona crisis.

The association was founded by parents in 2001 for the welfare and advancement of children and adults with Asperger and their families. The association has developed over the years a unique expertise in the world of high-functioning Asperger’s and autism compared to other syndromes.

The acquired knowledge formed the basis for the implementation of effective and successful programs for the advancement of children and adults with Asperger’s in cooperation with the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Education, Social Security, Rishon Lezion Youth Center, Tel Aviv Municipality Director of Social Services, IDF and others.

Among other things, the association runs social clubs that are meeting places for asparagus, preparation programs for military service and the integration of young people as volunteers in the IDF, an employment program that helps with job placement, a program to develop couple relationships, personal and group support and counseling for families and adults, organizing multi-participant professional conferences and more.

Over the 20 years, the association’s activities have yielded impressive achievements in all walks of life: more than 120 of its graduates have enlisted in the IDF, some have served and discharged after a year or two, 54 of them in active service today and 26 in advance of enlistment in March.

Over 260 graduates were hired and built a promising professional career. The marriage program was attended by more than 150 young people as well as more than a hundred parents who took part in parenting events to support their children in the field of marriage. More than 800 inquiries reach the association’s support and counseling center that accompanies families during their difficult hours each year.

“People with the syndrome have above-average intelligence, so with the right intention that the association provides, they can serve in the army, acquire an education and a profession, succeed in getting married and start families,” says Doron Halpern, chairman of the association and father of a child with Asperger’s. To absorb them into its ranks despite the many difficulties they face. However, the Corona crisis has pushed the Asparagus years back, especially in the field of employment, as many of them have been fired or taken out to the IDF and are the last to be absorbed back, if at all.

Aryeh Sivan, the association’s general manager, explains: “Without the association’s services, a significant part of the children and adults with Asperger’s would have fallen between the cracks and failed to integrate into the community, employment and family life. It should be remembered that although all the association’s programs employ salaried professionals, they were created and continue to be accompanied by volunteers. Without them, these programs would not have been born and would not have reached continuity and success. ”

Halpern adds: “The economic crisis, the halting of government budgets, the difficulty of raising donations and closures have almost disrupted the association’s activities, but with the joint efforts of volunteers and donors we have been able to overcome and preserve the activities.”

“We founded the association 20 years ago not as doomed people but as people who take their destiny into their own hands and build a promising future for their children,” he concludes. “We hope the crisis will pass in 2021 as soon as possible and we will be able to return to full activity of supporting the well-being and future of children and youth with Asperger’s.”