Sensory-Motor Book Exhibit at Orot Israel College

by Dr. Avia Guttman – Head, Special Education Department, Elkana Campus

This year, the Department of Special Education unveiled a special audio-visual exhibit at Orot Israel College’s Elkana campus. Entitled “What Happens When I Read,” the exhibit presents sensory-motor books for children with special needs. Rav Professor Neria Guttel, President of Orot Israel College, and Dr. Avia Guttman, head of Orot’s Department of Special Education, cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony and thanked all those who made the exhibit possible.

Dr. Yael Segev, who was the driving force behind the exhibit, explained,

“R’ Nachman says: ‘When a person sees and learns from a book, and everywhere that he sees and looks, he finds himself.’ (Likutei Moharan 141, Torah 121) Special needs children require mediation and a heavier reliance on various senses in order to allow them to understand the story and to identify with its heroes.” 

When a child identifies with the characters in a book, he benefits emotionally and cognitively. However, special needs children are often unable to identify with the characters or even with the story itself. In contrast, the sensory-motor books in this exhibit are creatively designed to tell the story via different sensory channels, thus enabling the child to comprehend the story on his or her own level.

The curators divided the exhibit into four categories: books for children with attention deficit disorders, books for children with sensory modulation disorders, books for children with developmental disabilities, and books for blind and deaf children. Each display case included specific instructions.

For instance, readers were asked to sit on a chair covered with spikes in order to simulate the experiences of a child with ADHD or to enter the “dialogue in the dark” room to simulate the experiences of a blind child. In addition, audio-visual presentations offered explanations of the various disorders.

Many people were involved in making the exhibit possible. Special thanks go to Rav Professor Neria Guttel, President of Orot Israel College; Mr. Yaniv David, assistant director-general for operations; Mrs. Naama Meyersdorf, director of our pedagogic center; Dr. Yael Segev, an Orot lecturer; and of course, the students, who produced all of the sensory-motor books in the collection.