Cultural adaptation of a preventive program for ultra-Orthodox preschool boys

ABSTRACT

Cultural factors significantly influence the effectiveness of pediatric screening that enables the prevention of developmental disturbances. The formulation of intervention programs must match the needs of the child, his or her family, and educators.

Recognizing the importance of creating an intervention program accessible to the culture of the child and the child’s mentors, this article describes a multidisciplinary early screening and preventive intervention program for preschool boys within the ultra-Orthodox sector. The adaptation strategy for intervention in the ultra-Orthodox community included both surface changes and deep restructuring of content and delivery. Lessons learned were applied to pilot testing resulting in a feasible model.

KEYWORDS:

• Culturally accessible
• preventive intervention
• modification of delivery
• cultural isolation
• adaptation strategy

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the staff of “Achiya—Learn That You Can,” for their valuable participation, especially, Founder and General Manager Mr. Yitzchak Levin, project manager Mr. Tzali Perlstein, and speech therapists Mrs. Shila Paskaro and Mrs. Noa Gubi. The author would also like to thank linguistic editors Mrs. Hanna Weiss and Mr. Andrew Goldstein.

Funding

The program was funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation and the municipality of Bnei-Brak.

Additional information

Funding

The program was funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation and the municipality of Bnei-Brak.