Upon reaching adulthood, people with developmental disabilities require specially tailored day facilities, designed to meet their specific needs. On the one hand, they have outgrown the special education system, which in Israel covers children and adolescents up to the age of 21. On the other, they are unable to participate in the regular work force, like their normative peers. They need accommodating day frameworks, combining rehabilitative care with an opportunity to lead productive lives, to the best of their ability.

                                            

The demand for day centers of this type in Israel is enormous. Thanks to the advocacy of organizations like Amichai and changing government policies, many more people with special needs now live their entire lives in the community, while constantly improving medical care significantly prolongs their life expectancy.  And yet, these burgeoning numbers are served by very few existing day facilities for adults with moderate to severe mental retardation. Inevitably, such centers are all filled to capacity, with waiting lists growing longer every day.

 

The modern Day Center occupying the entire ground floor of Beit Amichai provides comprehensive state-of-the-art, optimized and fully accessible, facilities for up to 50 adults with developmental disabilities of various types and levels. A staff of devoted professionals and volunteers guide and assist their disabled protégés, implementing the MISC approach of mediational intervention to expand their knowledge and maximize their self-esteem and independence. 

 

Amichai's young men and women acquire suitable working skills, producing handicraft items for sale, growing vegetables or shredding documents. In addition, they continually develop physical, cognitive and functional abilities through learning, talks, sports, gardening, cooking and various rehabilitative treatments, including occupational and speech therapies, Augmentative and alternative communication techniques & tools, physiotherapy, art and animal therapies. All these are carried in a range of spacious rooms and convenient areas, specially adapted to their needs and abilities:

 

• Music Therapy Room, acoustically built and fully equipped with musical instruments of fine quality, enabling music therapy, song and dance and other enjoyable activities.

• Occupational Therapy Room, designed and equipped for a range of paid occupational activities, such as sorting and assembling plastic parts, making jewelry, shredding documents and other services for external customers. 

Art Therapy Room, offering all needed facilities for artwork and art therapy with different materials: plaster, papier Mache, painting, collages etc.

• Computer Enrichment Center, providing a unique opportunity for enrichment and cognitive development, using special computer programs, aides and adapted devices.

• Home Management Facility serving as an all-important hub for therapeutic activities and training in crucial everyday skills.

• Multi-Purpose Hall, a large modern venue for dining, club activities, gatherings, lectures and events.

• Rest and Relaxation Area, comprising two comfortable bedrooms for disabled and aging individuals who need a timeout from ongoing activities during the day.

• Adaptive Care Facilities, including specially adapted bathrooms, showers, toilets, changing beds and carrying hammocks for severely disabled persons.

• Art Gallery & Café, inviting residents of the neighborhood to relax in the pleasant surroundings, and purchase the artwork created at the Center by adults with special needs.