The Mifne Center – Early Intervention in the treatment of autism for the infant and family; the Mifne Center was founded in 1987 by Dr. Hanna Alonim in Haifa and was the first ever institution in Israel to treat young infants with autism.
In the specialist literature, autism is still deemed to be a life-long disorder; a follow-up study of the children treated at Mifne from 1987-2005 shows that 75% of all children have been released from their isolation, and have been able to take part in normal social interaction with children their own age at kindergarten. As long as children are diagnosed with autism early enough (ie before they are two) and are treated using the Mifne method, their tendencies can be practically "reprogrammed" using special therapies, before their perception and behaviour patterns have become entrenched. The life-long follow-up costs that health insurance schemes and the state have to assume for autism treatment are considerably higher than the cost of treatments at the Mifne Center.
The aim of this project is to help families who cannot fully afford the cost of the treatment so that children with autistic disorders can be put on the right track early on, thus saving them the burden of this illness.
Since 2007, the age of kids in treatment has been lowered up to the age 2, which increase the therapy success rate: 88.3% of the toddlers are integrated in society with their peer group.