Personal profile
Research interests
My interdisciplinary research focuses on the fields of disability studies, mental health, rehabilitation, and digital communication and social technologies (including mHealth). I explore the social and emotional aspects of living with a lifelong disability, including community participation, quality of life, and well-being of adults and older adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and chronic illnesses. I explore the participation of people with disabilities in various life domains e.g., employment, education, and social and romantic relationships, from individual and family perspectives. As a mother with a lifelong physical disability, I am particularly interested in exploring the parenthood of adults with disabilities, the dynamics and relationships among these families, and the implications on the children’s well-being.
My personal experience as a woman with a disability has influenced my academic work and community advocacy. Below are examples of my past and current research projects and community activities:
- Promoting the well-being of people with disabilities (SDG-3): Understanding the experiences and unmet needs of parents with disabilities and their children; Using digital communication technology to maintain contact between older adults with intellectual disabilities who live in out-of-home supported residence and their families during COVID-19; A (voluntarily) member of Access Israel.
- Promoting inclusive education (SDG-4): Exploring the experiences of students with disabilities and administrative and academic staff members toward making the academic environment more accessible; A (voluntarily) member of the advisory committee for a social enterprise - "Flying toward the academic degree” – aimed to support the needs of students with disabilities.
- Promoting gender equality (SDG-5): Research projects that focus on the empowerment of women and mothers with disabilities.
- Reducing inequality in society (SDG-10): A member of a local musical ensemble of singers with and without a disability.
- Promoting the rights of people with disabilities (SDG-16): An academic representative of a round table managed by the Ministry of Law on the right of adults with disabilities to become parents; A co-chairwoman of “Haifa Forum of Disability Studies” to promote critical and ethical discussions on issues related to the people with disabilities.
External positions
COST Action (Europe) No. CA18236: "Multi-disciplinary innovation for social change" (SHIINE - https://socialchangelab.eu/).
2019 → 2023
Member of Board of Directors, Parenting SIRG, IASSIDD (https://iassidd.org/sirgs/parenting-with-intellectual-disabilities/ )
2019 → …
COST Action (Europe) No. IS1311: "Intergenerational Family Solidarity across Europe" (INTERFASOL)
2014 → 2018
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 5 Gender Equality
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Perceptions and Experiences of Antipsychotic Use and Discontinuation Among Young Adults Who Completed a First-Episode Psychosis Program
Schneidman, A., Roe, D., Zisman-Ilani, Y. & Shpigelman, C. N., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Humanistic Psychology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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“It’s Like a Kind of Chronic Pain That Goes With You”: Understanding the Phenomenon of Family Burden as Experienced by Primary Caregivers of Persons With Serious Mental Illness Who Refuse Treatment
Shpigelman, C. N., Galimidi, N. & Kal, M., Mar 2025, In: Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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“The System Sweeps it Under the Rug”: Educational Staff’s Perspectives on Romantic Relationships Among Autistic Adolescents
Shpigelman, C. N. & Hassan, G. H., 14 May 2025, (Published Online) In: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Academic staff members’ engagement in accessible higher education for students with disabilities
Schreuer, N., Shpigelman, C. N., Mor, S., Sarid, M., Kanter, A. S. & Sachs, D., 2024, In: Higher Education Research and Development. 43, 5, p. 1171-1186 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Adults With IDD in Supported Accommodation During COVID-19 Lockdown: The Families' Perspective
Shpigelman, C. N. & Araten-Bergman, T., 1 May 2024, In: American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 129, 3, p. 215-230 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review