Yael Center is a unique professional therapeutic organization which focus mainly on speech therapy and multi-dimensional therapy via two unique methods. These methods were developed in the center since 1996 by the founder of the center, Dr Elad Vashdi, and Yael Center’s members.
It all started working with a 4 years old autistic boy in a wide ABA program. Dr Vashdi was one of the therapists in this group of young therapists working with that boy. Since the child didn’t talk and his parents wanted him to speak, and since no other intervention was effective (OT, SLP, Medicine, stem cells, vitamins, ABA and more) the team tried intuitively to teach the child how to talk. After one year the child was able to say all the sounds and dozens of words. The team was led by Dr Vashdi, physical therapy student back then.
A new family asked for the services of the young student, this time a child with severe global Apraxia and Apraxia of speech. Using the techniques which worked with the first child, managed Dr Vashdi to help the second child produce most of the syllables and words in 6 months, they worked together later on for 13 consecutive years.
A third family asked to try out these techniques. Their child was diagnosed with ASD and epilepsy. He had Apraxia of speech as well. This time the parents did all the work at home, and in one year the child acquired most of the sound and started saying words.
The next step was to try and understand the nature of this tool, and Dr Vashdi decided to develop it alongside a multi-dimensional tool to treat children with special needs in a transdisciplinary way. Few young therapist were gathered together once a week for few years and developed these tool with the leadership of Dr Vashdi. They practiced speech and multi-dimensional therapy, learning, making mistakes and correcting them. They have developed basic evaluation tools, exercises and a new way of thinking.
In 2005 Dr Vashdi opened Yael Center clinic in Herzlia, Israel. The first VML training was delivered on the request of speech therapists in Israel who wanted to learn the method. The MDT was under development yet.
In 2009 Yael center started a day care service and gave consultations, treatment services and training. Dr Vashdi finished his Doctorate this year (DPT – doctorate in physical therapy). The activity in the clinic grew fast. At this year the first MDT training (2 years) was delivered to senior therapists in the center who grew to be the core therapist in the center.
In 2010 Yael center started international activity with the first VML training in English. This training took place in Australia alongside practicing with local families. The international activity was growing since then through presenting in many conferences around the world, practicing with families in the USA, Poland , Australia and other countries, Online evaluation services started and first video was uploaded to youtube.
Research started to evolve over the years but more and more since 2013 with few publications, and many research work yet to be published. All the activity in Yael center is research oriented and evidence based practice.
In 2013 a second clinic was opened in the north of Israel (city of Nesher, next to Haifa) and now it is the primary clinic, consisting of 7 rooms for theray built for this purpose.
Since 2016 the international activity grew rapidly through trainings in Slovenia, Romania, Taiwan, USA and Australia and soon in Turkey, France, Italy. More and more practitioners and families around the world practice and interested in the VML method.
Currently we are developing online services – MYVML train, MYVML evaluate and MYVML consult. These services will make the VML method accessible everywhere in the world with low cost and high quality and enable many children to enjoy the method.
The VML method has now an international network of therapists around the world which grows rapidly in the last few years. This network is the new basis of the system. Few books are in process now to set the public acknowledgment basis.
The MDT method is yet to come out since it is very big and complicated. We are using it on a daily basis but yet emphasizing it as a main axis. It will come in few years.
This is the history of Yael center. It is short in comparison to old institutes but full of doing and accomplishments. This is our start up, and it is just the beginning :)