23 04 2025
8 min read
This article was brought to the public in the merit of my dear mother of blessed memory, Rivka bas Yosef, may peace be upon her, who past away the 15th of Tammuz, 5779 (July 17, 2019).
INTRODUCTION
The following therapy is extremely powerful. It has literally changed many children’s lives in a short time span.
The following therapy can help a child’s mind and body relax to the point that it can focus and learn. It has been used with all types of children including,
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Regular children
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Those with learning disabilities
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Autistic children
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Children with down syndrome
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Other types of mentally challenged children
Although this therapy should be practiced daily for two to three full weeks, mothers have reported that within a week and a half they have seen major changes in their child. A similar idea was suggested to a teacher to use it with one of her students in a class setting. The teacher witnessed amazing changes in the student. In addition, the child herself was excited to receive help for her inability to be organized, sit still and focus in class.
One mother reported that about a week and a half after she started practicing this therapy with her seven year old child, she had a parent, teacher conference. The teacher was in total shock. She told the mother: “I don’t know what happened all of a sudden to your daughter Miriam. But this past week Miriam has been raising her hand and participating in class. Her confidence and self-esteem have improved and she is doing much better in reading.” At home the mother reported that her child was listening and co-operating more.
Note that although this therapy below has the power to improve a child’s quality of life, it is still simply a fraction of dealing with children. Other important aspects which affect our children’s development includes the choice of words we use, our tone of voice and our way of disciplining, just to mention a few. It is understandable that parents are humans and cannot be perfect. We all make mistakes and often we will fall and fail. What really counts is that we strive for the truth and gear our children to the ultimate purpose in life, that is to connect to the one and only G-d who is the Creator of the Universe. One way of achieving this is to teach children (without any form of abuse) to be good, honest, giving, kind and loving to others. And to be happy and content with whatever they have.
THERAPY
The following therapy can help children with the following issues: learning disabilities, self-esteem, hyperactivity (that is not due to lack of discipline), organization, and focus.
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NOTE: Although it is ideal if the child co-operates as much as possible, do not get discouraged if the child does not completely co-operate. Either way you should see some improvement.
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Some children laugh during the therapy. This should be ignored, it should stop once the child gets used to it. The mother can say “shhhhh” but otherwise not make a big issue.
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This therapy takes about 10-15 minutes every day and should be done for 2-3 weeks.
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The therapy should be done in a calm way.
INSTRUCTIONS
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Before the first session begins, explain to the child the rules of this exercise.
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The child should sit on a chair.
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You should sit in front of the child knee to knee.
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You both need to sit still without moving your legs, hands, feet, head and body.
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Both you and *the child need to be as silent and still as possible. If the child speaks or moves, in a soft tone of voice and in a dragged out way say, “shhhhh” (without getting upset with him in any way). If the mother needs to move for any reason, her move should be in a slow and calm motion.
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If there is a need to speak to one another this should be done in a soft whispering tone of voice.
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Usually a child is apt to move, therefore you just need to gently guide him back to focus on the rules of this exercise as mentioned above.
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Look into the child’s eyes.
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Encourage the child to look into your eyes too. When he does, whisper, “Good job!”
EXTRA TIPS FOR AUTISM AND OTHER MENTALLY CHALLENGED
Autistic children often appear to be in their own world and have difficulty focusing and relating to others. The following exercise assists them to increase their awareness, focus and to develop in their learning and their social skills.
The following exercises should be done in a loving and pleasant way. Check for facial expressions, body language and mood changes to see what the child likes or dislikes. furthermore, if a sibling or other children use this exercise as a game with the child, be aware of the child’s facial expressions, body language and mood change. Cease the exercise if it causes distress. These children should be fully respected like all other children.
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Copy any repetitive movements (often this involves hand flapping).
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Copy the sounds they make but do not copy them when they laugh or eat.
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Often these children do not make eye contact. To encourage them to do so, when you want to give them something they like, play a game with them by raising the object at eye level and above eye level, moving it in all directions to encourage eye contact.
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Mentally challenged children who speak or sing excessively to themselves need assistance in quieting their mind. This can be done by looking at the child and calmly saying, “shhhh.” This will need to be done continuously. One must have a lot of patients.
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For mentally challenged children who do not speak clearly, record them in fast mode then have them hear it in slow mode so that they can hear themselves and that you can repeat to them what they said.