Brain surgery gave Jacki Edry new vulnerabilities — and new understanding of neurodivergent children
Jacki Edry began working at age 14 with an autistic boy, which led to her working with autistic children at summer camps and then her undertaking a college degree in the field. Some of her own children were diagnosed with autism or neurodiversity, and then ten years ago, she underwent surgery to remove a tumor on her brain stem. Recuperating from the surgery and experiencing symptoms like visual disturbances, vertigo, and sensory overload gave her a firsthand glimpse of what children with autism and neurodiversity experience daily. Today, she sees that experience as a gift, one that bestowed her with deeper insight into the way autistic children experience the world and react to it.
Jacki, who has lived in Eretz Yisrael for over 35 years, combines a matter-of-fact, practical American approach with a generous dose of Israeli grit and perseverance. Currently a speaker and advocate for neurodivergent people in both English and Hebrew, she has been listed as one of the world’s top 50 “Neurodiversity Evangelists” by ND by Design, an organization that promotes employment for neurodivergent people.
Jacki spoke to me from her sunlight-filled home in Netanya, wearing a toque crocheted in lavender and mint, with occasional brief interruptions from the comings and goings of her children and from Panda, their white Labrador service dog.
Jacki grew up in the 1970s and 80s in Great Neck, New York, in a culturally Jewish but non-observant family. At the beginning of high school, she joined a group of volunteers working with an adorable five-year-old boy named Mark who was being cared for at home. “I instantly fell in love,” Jacki would later write. “We spent hours teaching him to communicate, perform basic tasks, and speak by imitating his movements and methods of play. Progress was slow, so every time he looked me in the eye or gave me a hug, I felt as if my heart was exploding.”
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