The cost of treatment for a child with special cognitive needs is US$ 5,000
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Laurent’s Story
Laurent, age 40, moved to Israel with his family from France at age 18. For years, he worked in private catering and managed a cafe in Jerusalem’s city center. He was a very social young man who dreamed of opening his own cafe in downtown Jerusalem. That dream was shattered on December 1, 2001, when Jerusalem was rocked by a triple terrorist bombing. Eleven were killed and nineteen more, including Laurent, were gravely injured. Laurent was rushed to the hospital with a severe head injury, and was unconcious for ten days. When he awoke, it was discovered that the right side of his body was completely paralyzed and he had total memory loss.
Laurent intiated his physical rehabilitation at Hadassah Hospital. Shortly after, he was referred to the Feuerstein Institute’s Center for Cognitive Rehabilitation of the Brian Injured. Following an initial assessment, Laurent began an intensive therapy regimen of twenty hours a week, which included Instrumental Enrichment, speech therapy, computer studies, reading, writing and simple arithmetic.
After three and a half years, Laurent saw amazing improvement. His case was reassessed and it was decided that opening a small cafe on the Feuerstein Institute’s premises would help him further improve. The cafe was built to both Laurent’s exacting standards and with further rehabilitation in mind.
Laurent’s recovery has surpassed expectations. Today, he no longer requires therapy. He is happily married, has two beautiful children, and continues to run the cafe at the Feuerstein Institute. He makes an excellent cup of coffee!