The Israeli Rett Syndrome Center. Evaluation and Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment

Abstract

Rett syndrome (RS) is a neuro-developmental syndrome of genetic origin, which mainly affects women. Individuals diagnosed with RS exhibit a variety of functional difficulties, which impair their quality of life. The variety of impairments and the differences between each child makes it necessary to administer skilled treatment, individually tailored to each client. Since the foundation of proper treatment is based on a structured, well administered, insightful assessment, the individual with RS with her complex array of difficulties should benefit from such a procedure. This notion has led to the establishment of the Israel Rett Syndrome Center. The center includes a medical branch located at the Safra Shildren's Medical Center at Tel Hashomer and an education/rehabilitation team, who performs assessments in special education facilities and residential settings throughout Israel. The assessment team works by means of arena assessment according to the concept of play-based assessment. This article presents the working model used by the education/rehabilitation team at the Israeli Rett Syndrome Center. The principles and working characteristics of the Israel Rett Syndrome Center team are suggested here as a potential model for establishing additional teams, presenting similar evaluation services for other individuals with RS as well as for analogous populations.

Music therapy for individuals with Rett syndrome

“…The educational/therapeutic team meets three to five individuals with RS per month. The model of operation of the Israeli evaluation team has been described elsewhere (17), and the present article will focus on music therapy and the music therapist who functions as the team's moderator.…”

“…In this part of the article, the Israeli RS centre will be described as a model for a holistic assessment and evaluation for individuals with RS. The Israeli Rett Centre consists of two assessment teams-a medical team and an educational/therapeutic team (17). The educational/therapeutic team performs assessment to establish a suitable intervention program for the person with RS shortly after she had been seen by the medical assessment team.…”