Special voices, special stories, in a very special book.

Everyone who knew him was mesmerized by Saadya Ehrenpreis a”h, the young man with Down Syndrome who confounded all the experts. He would be totally dependent for every basic need, the doctors predicted; he had little or no chance of ever communicating. Yet Saadya developed into a man who could read in Hebrew and English, traveled by himself to learn in Eretz Yisrael, and attended the Makor College Experience program at Yeshiva University.

After his untimely passing from COVID-19, his mother, Ahava Ehrenpreis, a talented author, chose to memorialize his life through filling a pressing need — providing a book that would serve as both a resource and an inspiration to parents, relatives, friends, and professionals dealing with children and adults who have special needs. More: To compile a book for everyone who believes that every person is special and should be treated with understanding, compassion, acceptance, and respect.

More Than Special is that book — a book for those who want to deepen and expand their own ahavas Yisrael. And doesn’t that mean all of us?

More Than Special includes:

The voices — authentic, honest, and heroic — of parents who give us a greater understanding of the challenges — and miracles — of raising special needs children

Advice from social workers and experts in the field of special education on how to create opportunities for individuals with special needs

Guidance in legal and financial safeguards for special-needs children and adults

Rabbanim discussing halachic and hashkafic issues of the special-needs population, including poignant and heartfelt words of chizuk from Rav Moshe Shapiro and the Pnei Menachem