Intellectually Disabled Students Graduate with Bachelor's Degrees

Six students enrolled in the Empowerment Project at Bar-Ilan University's Faculty of Education became the first ever adult cohort with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) in Israel to receive their bachelor's degree.

Each of the six received a Multidisciplinary BA in Social Sciences last evening at the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Education in the presence of First Lady Michal Herzog.

The Empowerment Project, a first-of its-kind program established by Prof. Hefziba Lifshitz, of Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Education, is based on Lifshitz's Compensation Age Theory, which postulates that chronological age, as opposed to mental age, plays an important role in determining the cognitive ability of adults with intellectual disability. "These students have succeeded in breaking stereotypes, shattering the glass ceiling, and against conventional wisdom graduated for the first time, obtaining a degree after ten years of study," she said. Addressing the students at a pre-graduation ceremony, Lifshitz said, “The goal has been reached and you have achieved it.”

The graduates are:

Ruti Bar-Or, 46, from Jerusalem has Down's syndrome, writes poems and stories and keeps a personal diary. She sees as a mission her work as a lecturer to people with special needs.

 Tomer Gad-Barak, 35, from Petach Tikva has cognitive versatility and mild cerebral palsy. His motto is 'don't say anything that can't be heard' – 'if I don't understand something I try hard until I do'.

Hofit Gilad, 41, from Ramat Gan is the mother of Abigail. Hofit has the ability to see the good in each of her friends, cheering them on and caring for each of them. She is good with numbers and has a great understanding of certain basic concepts in statistics. Her motto: 'Progress in life is progress in knowledge'.

Henia Greengarten, 42, is from Kfar Saba, her thirst for knowledge is part of her DNA. From a young age Henia, who has Kabuki syndrome, was aware of being different and the significance of it.  At the same time, she's always lived by the concept that all human beings are born different but equal. She volunteers in preschools and studies librarianship at David Yellin College with the goal of eventually working with children in a public library.

Oded Naftali, 34, is from Rishon Lezion, he is tech savvy and a team leader. He served in the IDF and received an outstanding soldier medal from the President of Israel in 2018. His message: 'All shy people can learn'. "I came to university to learn. I was a bit shy and slowly I overcame it. Whatever I didn't understand I asked." Oded has Down syndrome.

Lior Shmualevitz, 35, is from Hod Hasharon, she has Williams syndrome and is open to accepting people regardless of race, nationality and disability. She gets people to open up to her and not shy away. She likes to speak about her syndrome because she knows how difficult it is for people and families with disabilities to open up and talk about it.

“Amidst this joy over the completion of your degree and the beginning of the journey for all of you here at this wonderful faculty, I want to thank six wonderful people, graduates of the Empowerment Project.  I am actually here today thanks to Ruti, Tomer, Hofit, Henia, Oded and Lior -- six exemplary characters with cognitive versatility who are full of courage, determination and a great soul,” said First Lady Michal Herzog at the graduation ceremony. “When they visited us at the President’s Residence about two years ago, I asked them to invite me to their graduation when the day came. At that time, I thought it was an incentive to focus on the future and thus strive towards it a little more easily; But today it seems that the Fantastic Six -- who are here at the end of a beautiful and awe-inspiring chapter that they experienced together, and each one separately -- didn't exactly need incentives. It's hard for me to think of a more appropriate name than Empowerment to describe this exciting initiative of entering the gates of the world of higher education; and there’s no doubt that fulfilling such a vision -- shattering glass ceilings -- takes much will, faith and adherence to the goal. I thank Prof. Hefziba Lifshitz for such exciting and significant life work, Dr. Shoshana Nissim and the Faculty of Education at Bar-Ilan for the courage and faith to realize an impressive and challenging vision. Every such opening brings forth air and light, and every such path has the power to contribute to those who walk it, and to society as a whole.”

Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Arie Zaban: "You’re making history today in Israel and around the world. Prof. Lifshitz and Dr. Nissim, who led you to this moment, are proof of the importance of faith in a person. You’ve shown us what strength of will and determination is, and we thank you for this."

Lifshitz and colleagues at Bar-Ilan University, including Dr. Shoshana Nissim, director of the Empowerment Project, have determined that intelligence in ID individuals reaches its peak at around 40-45 years old, providing a window of opportunity for additional, meaningful education and enabling adults with ID to develop and maximize their potential later in life. Prof. Lifshitz is aware of only three additional adult ID individuals in the world with the same criteria who have received a BA to date.

The Bar-Ilan Empowerment Project, under the Lois Alberto Machado Chair for Research on Cognitive Modifiability in the Faculty of Education, serves 120 adults with all levels of intellectual disability: mild-moderate as well as severe-profound, providing college-level courses adapted to their needs. The most academically capable students in the program can earn a bachelor’s degree.