My name is Dr. Keren Sagiv Friedgut, a professional pediatrician and mother of three.
11 years ago, my daughter Michal got a diagnosis of autism. Alongside the high levels of stress that accompanied the diagnosis, my husband and I changed our whole life to wrap Michal with the best therapy we could afford. As a pediatrician, I left a prestigious internship in Canada, and we returned home to Israel. Like many parents, we hired the services of the best professionals in Israel and created a life of care. I remember those painful moments of trying to play with her and bring the world to her, without really getting a response. Unfortunately, 2 years later, my son Hillel was diagnosed with autism as well.
As parents, we knew that there must be a better and more effective way to work with Hillel and Michal. With my pediatrician network, I started searching for the best available evidence-based therapy. I found it. PRT– Pivotal Response Treatment, A treatment that not only promotes the children but also gives the parents practical tools to develop the children in the daily routine at home. Through studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, I acquired my certification for this comprehensive intervention. Implementing PRT with my children revolutionized our entire life. We were able to motivate Michal and Hillel to speak and communicate. They started to participate in life, and explore the world. We got to know them and their unique personalities much better.
It was unbearable for me to know that such an intervention exists and yet isn’t available to other families and children with autism. It’s intolerable that children out there don’t get intervention they really need; That’s why I’ve made it my mission to bring the best scientifically proven methods to children with autism and their families so they can all thrive and live their absolute best lives.
Together with my partners, we developed SocialMind to make research-based therapies accessible and train you, the parents, to care for your child according to the PRT method’s principles. The entire training takes place online, in your personal time, and was designed to allow you to create learning opportunities and promote your child during the routine and day-to-day activities in your life. We dismantled the complex interventions into applicable principles, simplified the professional and confusing language, and wrapped it all up in short, interactive and fun chapters. All this at your own pace, even if you only have five minutes a day.
I invite you to read more about our digital trainer and to visit our blog for tips and information on the subject of caring for children with autism.
