Grandparenting Kids with Disabilities

by Erin Beser

By the time our son Aldo was five years old, his father and I had spent countless hours on research, filling out paperwork and attending parent coaching sessions as well as thousands of dollars on evaluations, testing, therapies and support interventions. By the time Aldo entered Kindergarten, he had a medical and educational diagnosis of Autism and ADHD. As Aldo's mom, I often feel like the interpreter between what he means to say and do and how the rest of the world understands him.

Over the December holidays, while spending time with my husband's family, I witnessed Aldo and my father in law having a challenging interaction. It looked a lot like this cartoon:

In that moment, I realized that the hours my husband and I had logged becoming "experts" in Aldo's diagnosis and behaviors had occurred in a vacuum that had not fully included our extended family, especially Aldo's grandparents. It made me wonder how many other grandparents there were out there who were cheering on their neurodivergent or disabled grandchildren from the sidelines, but were confused or even afraid to burden their own adult children with their questions or concerns.

So to that end, the Jewish Learning Venture is launching a virtual cohort for grandparents of children with disabilities to provide a safe and supportive environment for grandparents to learn, share experiences, offer mutual support, and build a strong community network. We invite you to join us!

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Join our growing community of grandparents and grandpals who support grandchildren with disabilities for a four part learning series, Wednesdays from April 23 to May 14 at 11:00am on Zoom.

Each session will feature practical, hands-on learning opportunities with interactive activities, expert presentations, and group discussions.

Examples include:

• Understanding your grandchild's unique strengths and challenges

• Communication strategies on how to better talk to and play with your grandchild

• Importance of Jewish grandparenting and feeling a sense of purpose and community around grandparenting.

These sessions will provide a safe and supportive environment to share experiences, offer mutual support, and build a strong community network, as well as incorporate Q&A segments and personalized consultation opportunities to ensure participants leave with actionable strategies tailored to their unique situations.

• Session 1 (April 23): The important role of grandparenting Jewish kids + Understanding what is neurodiversity + disability

• Session 2 (April 30): Understanding the neurology of autism + adhd + strategies to support challenging behavior

• Session 3 (May 7): Importance of Play: Strategies for playing with your grandchildren

• Session 4 (May 14): Grandparenting in community: what's next?

Register here!

Register to receive the Zoom address. Contact Erin for more information

Need Accommodations?

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Jewish Learning Venture provides accommodations for any child or family member with a disability to attend jkidphilly events. If you need an accommodation such as an ASL interpreter, a sensory toolbox, or if you have questions about the accessibility of any program or venue, please note so on our form or contact us. In most cases, our staff will need two weeks’ notice to provide accommodations, but we will do our best to meet your needs within any timeframe.

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Erin Beser is the Director of Jewish Learning Venture’s ‘Whole Community Inclusion’ initiative. a passionate Jewish educator who has worked in a variety of Jewish educational spaces from synagogues and summer camps to Jewish day schools and currently teaches 6th grade Jewish studies at the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr. Erin is also the founder and CEO of Adoughma Dough Play Events, a sensory education initiative working to bring dough and sensory play into Jewish educational and communal spaces. In her free time, she enjoys running, playing the ukulele, and eating Indian and Ethiopian food.