ABSTRACT
This book aims to study the problems inherent in the medical, social and educational management of children with developmental disability in populations which have value systems different from that of the majority culture, using as an example a group of Hasidic Jews. Although this is a relatively small minority, the problems that they present are common to most very orthodox religious groups. The impetus for this study arose out of the practical necessity of providing for the children of such a cultural and religious group without significantly compromising the quality of the care given, unjustifiably diverting resources from other patients or, as far as possible, offending the religious susceptibilities of the group. All members of the group live in Hackney, one of the most deprived inner-city boroughs of London. All resources (medical, social and educational) are in short supply. In contrast, indicators of depriva tion - unemployment, broken homes, child abuse and appalling housing - are among the highest in England. Recent figures based on the Deprivation Index1,2 show that it is the third worst borough in England.3 In addition, it is an area with many different ethnic and religious groups, speaking over 150 languages. One such group, accounting for about 12% of the population of the borough, are Jews, of whom about 50% are Hasidic. Among the Hasidim, marriages are arranged within small subunits of the community, and family size averages about eight children, although anything up to 15 or 20 children is not uncommon.4
