A cultural intervention model for developmentally disabled adults:

This paper describes Chavarim, a non-traditional community based program, founded in the Jewish cultural context. Chavarim is a socialization and life-skill development program for Jewish adults with developmental disabilities. The program incorporates occupational therapy precepts of independent living, community integration, cultural identification and development of life roles. Specific details of program development and implementation will be included. While this paper is concerned with service delivery in the area of developmental disabilities, recommendation for the applicability of the model for occupational therapy intervention with other cultural groups will be discussed. In this author's opinion, for a person with a disability to be adequately prepared to meet the challenges of full community integration, the meaning of culture in daily life must be understood and incorporated into life-skill training programs. This is an account of how one occupational therapist developed an innovative program to meet the challenge of the task.