About Netzer Association
Netzer Association is a non-profit parent’s organization that was founded in Haifa, Israel in 1982. The Netzer Association operates diagnostic and treatment frameworks for children with developmental disabilities on the autism spectrum (A.S.D.). Netzer serves the northern population of the country and is managed by parents, public figures and professionals.

Our programs encompasses therapeutic preschool programs for toddlers ages 1-3, treatment centers for children of kindergarten age up until school age, as well as after-school therapeutic leisure clubs for school-age children. Approximately 160 children, of diverse backgrounds: Jewish, Arab, and Druze, are diagnosed and treated each year.

Netzer Association’s goal is to offer diagnostic and treatment services to every child in need, regardless of race, religion, nationality or the financial situation of the parents.

The Netzer Association is partially funded by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Welfare. Along with these funds the parents pay a participation fee. The Municipalities have allocated the buildings. In addition to these funds the Netzer Association depends on donations to support the high cost of the specialized treatments, as well as offering financial relief to families in financial stress, and in order to expand, develop and improve the services offered by the association.

The Milman Center

In 1992, the Netzer Association established the Boris Milman Center in Haifa, with the generous support from the Milman Family. The Center serves as a diagnostic, therapeutic and advisory body for over one hundred children on the autism spectrum (A.S.D), and their families. The Center is run by the Netzer Association.

The Milman Center is the main public facility for children on the autistic spectrum in Haifa and the northern part of Israel, and is one of the largest treatment centers in the country. Since its establishment, the Center has treated over 600 children.

The Center applies a unique therapeutic model whose principles are based on integrative psycho- developmental work with the children, taking into consideration the complex developmental disorder of children with Autism, within the context of parent-child relationships as well as interpersonal relationships. The program includes working with the parents as partners in their child’s treatment as well as counseling them through their difficulties, indecisions, and methods of coping.

The multidisciplinary staff at the Milman Center represents various disciplines: speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, social work, expressive art therapy (art, movement, and music), animal assisted therapy and special education teachers.

The Milman Center operates on the basis of the following principles (Based on the writing of Tsofiya Smooha, Clinical and Developmental Psychologist, one of the founders of the Milman Center):

• Raising a Child with Special Needs is Not a Project. It is a Way of Life
• The Parents are Active Participants at their Child’s Therapy.
• A child with autism ”speaks” a unique language
• A Child with Special Needs Should Also Experience and Experiment with   the Normal Developmental Milestones (As all Children)
• As Early an Intervention as Possible!
• Intensive and extensive developmental therapy
• Therapy by multi-disciplinary teams
• Therapy Based on Teamwork
• Cultivating a Sense of SELF
• Openness for Self Inspection and Constant Learning.


The Center is a unique treatment environment: It provides all necessary services to the children and their parents under a single roof. The atmosphere of the center is warm and accepting, respectful of all its participants. For the older children, the Netzer Association offers an after-school therapeutic youth club.

The Center is active in the community in order to strengthen early diagnosis, and support the children who are treated at the Center in their community environment. The Center is very active in developing and supporting new programs such as special kindergartens for children with A.S.D., or special mainstreaming programs in the schools. The center also serves as a training site for students from the University of Haifa, “Oranim” College, Lesley University and other academic and research frameworks.

For more information about our programs and facilities please contact the Milman Center: milmnctr@bezeqint.net,

Telefax 972-4-8325190, 972-4-8231560, 972-4-8227560, 34 Hativat Carmeli St. Haifa 32624, Israel