Lab Staff
Haya Grinvald
PhD student
Yael Lavie-Pitaro
PhD student
Sophi Chapani-Itkin
PhD student
Ofra Pollak-Rozansky
MScOT student
Sara Nadzhavsky
MScOT student
Hallel Aharon
MScOT student
Mor Mois-Shustert
MScOT student
Neta Talmon
MScOT student
Limor Alfiya
MScOT student
Michal Salomon
MScOT student
Alumni (Master students)
Shlomit Segal-Freiman, Tair Shabbat, Shira Vidislavski, Sopi Itkin, Hadas Ben Tzur, Risa Mor, Tovi Shmueli Aizner, Avia Alfi, Devorah Dayan, Chani Zyger, Ayala Shterenshus, Maria Padoha, Rana Tartir, Fathmah Freed Alhag, Adi Shaham, Sapir Weintraub, Carmit Peretz, Galia Barnowitz, Adi Izchak, Shir Unterman
Laboratory interests
- Participation
- Environmental factors; Socio-cultural factors
- Quality of life
- Community
- Various populations: From childhood to old age
- Medical education and clinical studies
Areas of research
Participation, quality of life, and environmental factors in diverse populations including individuals with and without disabilities (e.g., ASD, ADHD, Epilepsy and various health and social conditions) across lifespan (children, youth, adults and older adults) within various environments (school, home and community).
Interventions:
- Participation and environmental-focused interventions
- Health-management and social participation of older adults with chronic diseases
Tools Developed in the Laboratory
The SPO-ASD is a structured observation tool designed to assess children's participation in preschool activities. It is grounded in theory and research and intended for occupational therapists working with this population in educational settings. The current version (SPO-ASD) was adapted and tested among preschool children (ages 3-7) with autism attending special education preschools. It is categorized by preschool areas (e.g., dining tables, restrooms, play area and yard) and also includes an assessment of environmental factors in the preschool that either support or restrict children's participation. The tool may also be suitable for children with other disabilities, provided that the relevance of the items is assessed, as well as for typically developing children.
This questionnaire is designed for adolescents aged 14 to 18 years, and assesses participation in daily activities typical of adolescents across various life domains: school, home, and community. It provides an in-depth perspective, including an objective measure (frequency) and subjective measures (choice, importance, and satisfaction).
The questionnaire can be used for clinical and research purposes subject to the authors' approval.
Bibliography
Lavie-Pitaro, Y., Weintraub, N., &
Golos, A. (2025). Adolescent participation characteristics: Development and initial psychometric properties of the adolescents participation questionnaire. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 32(1), 2487467.
Link.
These tools provide insight into the perceptions of parents (and adolescents) with disabilities regarding their children’s strengths, as well as their concerns regarding the children's functional performance and its impact on their participation in daily activities. These tools are based on the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework and the principles of family-centered care.
These tools were translated in collaboration with Dr. Lori Rosenberg and can be purchased directly through the CanChild website.
Laboratory Research Topics
Children and Adolescents
- Participation characteristics and the impact of environmental factors among children and adolescents with and without disabilities (e.g., ADHD, ASD).
- Participation, quality of life, and family routines among young children with ADHD.
- Participation and quality of life of school-aged children with ASD integrated into mainstream education.
- Participation and functioning of children of immigrants and asylum seekers in educational settings.
- Quality of life of parents and children with epilepsy from different sectors in Israel.
- Participation, quality of life, and environmental factors among adolescents in mainstream and alternative education (underachieving students).
- Participation and environment focused interventions for children and adolescents with physical and mental disabilities.
- Play participation among children with ASD.
-
Resilience, supports, and daily participation of high school students during the "Iron Swords" war.
Adults/Older Adults
- Quality of life of women with disabilities in crisis situations.
- The impact of resilience factors and daily participation on quality of life and health outcomes among community dwelling older adults from diverse communities.
- Social participation of older adults with chronic illnesses living in the community.
- Quality of life and health management among older adults from the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) sector.
- Evaluation of health management programs among community-dwelling older adults.
- Participation and function focused community interventions for adults with motor disabilities.
- Development of the Structured Preschool Participation Observation (SPO), including an updated version for children with ASD (SPO-ASD), within educational settings.
- Psychometric properties of the CASP questionnaire among children and youth with TBI.
- Translation and examination of tools used to describe children's strengths and their parents' concerns regarding their functioning, participation, and health, based on the ICF framework of the WHO, in collaboration with CanChild (Canada).
- Environmental factors, with a focus on socio-cultural factors
- Cultural competence among occupational therapists.
- Cultural perceptions and attitudes of people with mental disabilities in community rehabilitation settings.
Cultural adaptations of assessment tools (e.g. PIC-ME) and intervention protocols (e.g., Cog-fun, Mother-Child Play-based Intervention, PREP) in occupational therapy for diverse populations, including minorities such as ultra-Orthodox, Arabic and immigrants).
- Development and testing of a multi-dimensional intervention in educational settings for at-risk children with suspected developmental delays (ultra-Orthodox community).
- Efficacy of a Mother-Child Play-based Intervention in the Israeli Bnei Menashe community: A pilot study.
- Cultural adaptation and internal validity of a factorial tool for assessing executive functions in children from the ultra-Orthodox community.
- Cultural adaptation of a cognitive-functional OT intervention protocol (Cog-fun) for children with ADHD from the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors.
- Translation of the Participation and Environment-Focused Intervention protocol (PREP) and examination of its efficacy among young adults with physical disabilities.
- Assessment of population characteristics and services provided in "Mother-Child centers" in East Jerusalem.
- Adaptation of the cognitive intervention protocol (CO-OP) for children with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities (IDD) (in collaboration with Dr. Miri Tal-Saban).
- Development of community-based occupational therapy services as part of student clinical studies.
- Needs assessment of services for diverse populations in the community.
- Development of models for instruction and clinical case-based teaching.
- Needs assessment of diverse populations in the community.
References
Finkelstein, A., Genut, S.,
Golos, A. (2026) Experiences of women with disabilities during and after COVID-19: Needs, sources of support and implications for policy and practice. PLoS One, 21(2): e0342900.
LinkGilboa, T., Fogel-Grinvald, H., Blumenfeld, S., Freed Alhag, F., &
Golos, A. (2026). Epilepsy severity, parental knowledge, and health-related quality of life in children with epilepsy and their parents. Seizure: European Journal of Epilepsy, 137, 2026, 152-157.
LinkMeroz, Z., Budman, J.R., Yochman, A.,Bin-Nun, A., &
Golos, A. (2025). Effectiveness of an oral-motor intervention for premature infants: Feeding and maternal self-efficacy. Early Human Development, 210, 106382.
LinkBudman, J. R., Maeir, A., Traub Bar-Ilan, R., &
Golos, A. (2025). Initial development and content validity of the Experiencing Day-to-Day Life Questionnaire (EDLQ): A measure of objective participation and subjective experience in occupation. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 1–18.
LinkLavie-Pitaro, Y., Weintraub, N., &
Golos, A. (2025). Personal and environment factors and participation as mediators between high school type and school quality of life and wellbeing. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1691569.
LinkLavie-Pitaro, Y., Weintraub, N., &
Golos, A. (2025). Adolescent participation characteristics: Development and initial psychometric properties of the adolescents participation questionnaire. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 32(1), 2487467.
Link.
Shaham, A., Zaguri-Vittenberg, S., &
Golos, A. (2025). Participation patterns and quality of life of children with autism in inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1–18.
Link.
Golos, A., Tartir, R., Fadwa Abo-Halka, M., & Tekuzener, E. (2025). Quality of Early Intervention Program Services in Mother-Child Health Care Centers for At-Risk Population: Multiple Perspectives. Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics, 1-17.
Link.
Golos, A., Weintraub Paz, S., & Zaguri-Vittenberg, S. (2025). Home and Community Participation Patterns, Quality of Life and Family Routines among Preschool Children with ADHD. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities.
Link.
Khourieh, H., Fogel-Grinvald, H., &
Golos, A. (2025). Participation and quality of life among older adults: Comparison study of ethnic majority and minority groups. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79, 7902180120.
Link.
Fogel-Grinvald, H., Maeir, A., &
Golos, A. (2025). Older adults' engagement in meaningful activities and quality of life during COVID-19: A Mixed-methods study. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79, 7901205060.
Link.
Zaguri-Vittenberg, S.,
Golos, A., & Budman, J. (2024). Participation in health-promoting activities of mothers of young children post-man-made disaster caused by terrorist attack. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication.
Link.
Tal-Saban , M., Biran, S., Fogel-Grinvald, H., &
Golos, A. (2024). The Effect of a Mindfulness Course on Self-Compassion Among Occupational Therapy Students. Mindfulness, 15, 2622-2631.
Link.
Rosenberg, L., Zecharia, S., Gilboa, Y., &
Golos, A. (2024). Preparing Adults with Cerebral Palsy to Move from Assisted to Independent Living. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2024;0(0).
Link.
Rosenberg, L., Zecharia, S., Gilboa, Y., &
Golos, A. (2024). Managing the move from assisted to independent living: an inclusive qualitative study among adults with cerebral palsy. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–8.
Link.
Golos, A., Vidislavski, S., & Anaby, D. (2023). Participation Patterns of Israeli Children with and without Autism, and the Impact of Environment. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 1-18
Link.
Golos, A., Budman, J. R., Shterenshus, A., & Traub Bar-Ilan, R. (2023). The Pictorial Interview of Children's Metacognition and Executive Functions (PIC-ME): Cultural Adaptation for Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Populations. Occupational Therapy International. 4832354, 1-12.
Link.
Golos, A., Zyger, C., Lavie-Pitaro, Y., & Anaby, D. (2023). Improving Participation among youth with disabilities within their unique socio-cultural context during COVID-19 pandemic: Initial evaluation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20, 1338.
Link.
Sinvani, R. T.,
Golos, A., Ben Zagmi, S., & Gilboa, Y. (2023). The relationship between young children's graphomotor skills and their environment: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20, 1338.
Link
Golos, A., Ben-Zur, H., & Itkin Chapani, S. (2022). Participation in preschool activities of children with autistic spectrum disorder and comparison to typically developing children. Research in Developmental Disabilities; 127: :104252.
Link
Golos, A., Chapani Itkin, S., & Ben-Zur, H. (2021). The Structured Preschool Participation Observation (SPO) for Children with ASD: Adaptation, Initial Psychometric Properties, and Children's Participation. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 42(2):198-214.
Link
Golos, A., Mor, R., Fisher, O., & Finkelstein, A. (2021). Clinicians' views on the need for cultural adaptation of intervention for children with ADHD from the Ultra-Orthodox community. Occupational Therapy International, 21, 1-13.
Link
Shabat, Y., Fogel-Grinvlad, H., Anaby, D., &
Golos, A. (2021). Participation characteristics of children and youth, aged 6-14, with and without ADHD, and the impact of environmental factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18(2), 537.
Link
Golos, A., & Freiman, S. (2021). Pilot study of a play-based intervention enrichment program using board games for mothers and children from a culturally challenged immigrant group. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, &Early Intervention, 15(1):14-30.
Link
Stahl, E., &
Golos, A. (2021). Supervision of occupational therapy students in youth mental health wards. The Israeli Journal of Occupational Therapy. 30(1): H42-H57. (In Hebrew).
Golos, A., & Tekuzener, E. (2021). Student and supervisor perspectives on the effectiveness of community-based placements for occupational therapy students. BMC Medical Education. 21:73, 2-12.
Link.
Golos, A., & Weintraub, N. (2020). Culture and gender differences in children's frequency of participation in preschool daily activities. The Israeli Journal of Occupational Therapy. 29(3): H56-H72.
Golos, A., & Weintraub, N. (2020). The psychometric properties of the Structured Preschool Participation Observation (SPO). Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics. 40(5):582-94.
Link.
Golos, A., & Tekuzener, E. (2019). Perceptions, expectations and satisfaction levels of occupational therapy students prior to and after practice placement and comparison of practice placement models. BMC Medical Education. 19(1):324.
Link
Golos, A., Revach, A., & Cohen, T. (2019). Cultural competence in occupational therapy. The Jerusalem Intercultural Center. 1-8. (In Hebrew)
Golos, A., & Bedell, G. (2017). Responsiveness and discriminant validity of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) across three years for children and youth with traumatic brain injury. Developmental Neurorehabilitation. 21(7):431-8.
Link
Golos, A., & Bedell, G. (2016). Psychometric properties of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) across a 3- year period for children and youth with traumatic brain injury. NeuroRehabilitation. 38:311-319.
Link.
Golos, A., & Weintraub, N. (2015). The Structured Preschool Participation Observation (SPO). The Israeli Journal of Occupational Therapy. 24(2-3):H59-H72. (In Hebrew)
Golos, A., Sarid, M., Weill, M., Yochman, A., & Weintraub, N. (2014). The influence of environmental factors on the development of Ultra-Orthodox preschool boys in Israel. Israel Journal of Occupational Therapy. 23(1), H326-H342. (In Hebrew).
Golos, A., Sarid, M., Weill, M., & Weintraub, N. (2013). The Influence of Early Intervention Length on the Participation of Low Socio-Economic At-Risk Preschool Boys: A Two Group Control Study. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention. 6:188–202.
Link
