איזור אישי
Name:Ran Neuman
Position:Lecturer
Department:Department of Social Work & Department of Multidisciplinary- Studies Special Education and psychology
Phone Number: 972-50-8529416
Email: rann@zefat.ac.il
Areas of Interest:
Adults with disabilities in general and adults with Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in particular:
- Bridging the gap between theory and practice
- The Humanistic approach as basis for perception and intervention
- The role of support staff and families
- Residential and community living
- The challenge of half way homes as satellite residences
- Transitions in the lives of adults with disabilities
- Couple and interpersonal relationships
- Quality of life self-realization and decision making
It is my professional opinion that in order to create a more accessible world for people with disabilities, the research in the areas described above should focus on the voices of people with disabilities and the way they interpret and understand their own lives.
Biographical Info:
Over the last 20 years I have been involved in assisting adults with disabilities to improve their quality of life. As a staff member at Kfar Tikvah, a rural residential community for adults with disabilities, I initiated and directed several innovative programs. One such program was to assist residents to leave the sheltered environment of the 'village' and live in satellite apartments in the nearby town.
In 2013, after completing my PhD. I joined Zefat Academic College while keeping my position in Kfar Tikvah. In line with my professional orientation to develop support services for adults with disabilities, I strive to introduce academic studies and field work in this area to would be social workers and educators.
Together with my colleague, Prof. Shunit Reiter, we established in 2017 a Research Center in Kfar Tikvah with the vision of bridging the gap between theory and practice, with regard to adults with disabilities. At the center we run several research studies, and in service training of staff.
Research:
2014- A research for evaluating the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disability living in extensions of residential care facilities in the community.
2015- The experience of couple relationships as reflected in the stories of people with intellectual and developmental disability.
2017- Couple relationships as perceived by people with intellectual disability -Implications for quality of life and self-concept.
2017- The characteristics, meanings and implications of couple relationships from the perspective of people with intellectual disability living as couples
2018- Accessibility to couple-hood among adults with IDD.
2018- Establishing and maintaining couple-hood as perceived by couples with intellectual and developmental disabilities- implications for the provision of supports.
2018- Attitudes of direct support staff, regarding couple relationships of adults with IDD: Implications for the provision of supports.
2018- Attitudes of parents, regarding couple-hood of their offspring with intellectual and developmental disability- implications for the provision of supports.
2018- Transitions in the life journey of adults with intellectual and developmental disability- implications for the provision of supports.
Teaching
Introduction to psychology
Developmental psychology
Introduction to special education
Introduction to special education- from Mainstreaming to Inclusion
Introduction to intellectual and developmental disability
Introduction to ASD (autism spectrum disorder).
Families of children and adults with disabilities- research seminar
Providing the necessary supports for persons with intellectual developmental disabilities- Intervention Seminar
Intellectual disability as a unique challenge for intervention
Behavior analysis and modification in special education
Acquiring life skills in special education
Methods of intervention in social work
Awards:
2016- The Academic College of Zefat, the President's award for Excellence in Teaching.(10,000 N.S)
Publications:
Gilbar, O. & Neuman, R. ( 2002). Which cancer patient completes a psychosocial intervention program? Psycho-oncology, 11, 461-471.
Neuman, R. & Reiter, S. (2015). The experience of couple relationships as reflected in the stories of people with intellectual and developmental disability. Journal of Israel Studies in Language and Society. A special issue on: Voices of people with disabilities in the Israeli society. 7(1-2) 200-217. (Hebrew).
Neuman, R. & Reiter, S. (2017). Couple relationships as perceived by people with intellectual disability -Implications for quality of life and self-concept. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities. 63(3), 138-147.
Neuman, R. & Reiter, S. (2017).The characteristics, meanings and implications of couple relationships from the perspective of people with intellectual disability living as couples. In S. Reiter, I. Kupferberg & I. Gilat. (Eds.), Current Issues in Inclusion of Students and Adults with Special Needs in Israel: A Collection of Studies. Tel Aviv: The Mofet Institute. (Hebrew).
Neuman, R. (2018). Accessibility to couple-hood among adults with IDD. Homesh: Rehabilitation Journal for Social Workers in Israel. 29, 48-53. (Hebrew)
Presentations:
During the last year (2018) I made the following presentations (the full list of my previous presentations is in my Curriculum Vitae):
- Support and guidance of adults with disabilities ( Ministry of Welfare - The National Forum of Social Workers in residential services for people with disabilities, Israel).
- From theory to practice - Changes in attitudes and support strategies towards adults with Disabilities (Parents and siblings of adults with IDD, Kfar Tikvah- research center, Israel).
- Micro and Macro practice- intervention strategies for assisting adults with Disabilities (service providers and support staff, Kfar Tikvah - research center, Israel).
- Assistance and supports by service providers of adults with IDD (Ministry of Welfare - Department of Rehabilitation, Israel).
- Where do we go from here? Attitudes towards adults with disabilities - past, present and future (Office of social services, Tiberius, Israel).
- Attitudes of direct support staff, regarding couple relationships of adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IASSIDD 5th European Regional Congress, Athens, Greece).
- The influence of micro and macro practice, on the quality of life of people with disabilities (Macro Matters - The Second Conference on Macro Practice in Social Work, Zefat Academic College, Israel).
- The Cycle of Internalized Learning (CIL) as a model of intervention with adults with disabilities (Macro Matters- The Second Conference on Macro Practice in Social Work, Zefat Academic College, Israel).
- Accessibility to couple-hood - an illustration of the right of people with IDD to live a full and meaningful life (The 8th Israeli Interdisciplinary Conference on Qualitative Research - Between the personal and the political, Ben Gurion University, Israel).