Shira Yalon-Chamovitz (born 8 November 1962) (Hebrew: שירה ילון-חיימוביץ) is an Israeli occupational therapist. She is the director of the Israel Institute on Cognitive Accessibility and dean of students at Ono Academic College.[3][4]
She has made significant contributions to the field of accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities, having coined the terms "cognitive ramps"[5] and "simultaneous simplification".[6][7]
Most of Yalon-Chamovitz's research has concerned adults with cognitive disabilities.[8] During her doctoral research, she developed a video test of practical intelligence[9] which was included in the DSM-5 for the diagnosis of intellectual disability.[10] Subsequent research looked into the application of virtual reality for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities,[11] and the use of co-teaching models in service learning in occupational therapy education.[12][13]
Yalon-Chamovitz published a theoretical model of practice for cognitive accessibility.[14] This model has become the basis for subsequent models and implementation.[15][16]
Simultaneous Simplification at the Eurovision Song Contest, 2019.
Based on this model, Yalon-Chamovitz developed the "Simultaneous Simplification" technique,[17][18] which was first implemented globally during the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation provided cognitive accessibility to the broadcast of the Eurovision through a digital video live stream, which involved translating what was said in real time in English into plain language Hebrew.[19]
Yalon-Chamovitz was a member of the committee that wrote the 2015 Israeli accessibility regulations which legally mandated the use of simple language and/or language simplification (Hebrew = פישוט לשוני).[20]
^Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira; Steinberg, pnina; Shach, Ruth; Avidan-Ziv, Ornit (2019). "Simultaneous Language Simplification from the Perspective of People with IDD: Overcoming Cognitive Accessibility Barriers and Token Participation". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3390380.
^Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira; Greenspan, Stephen (May 2005). "Ability to identify, explain and solve problems in everyday tasks: preliminary validation of a direct video measure of practical intelligence". Research in Developmental Disabilities. 26 (3): 219–230. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2004.08.002. PMID15668073.
^Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira; Weiss, Patrice L. (Tamar) (May 2008). "Virtual reality as a leisure activity for young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities". Research in Developmental Disabilities. 29 (3): 273–287. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2007.05.004. PMID17590313.
^Lahav, Orit; Daniely, Noa; Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira (2 June 2017). "Interpersonal social responsibility model of service learning: A longitudinal study". Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 25 (1): 61–69. doi:10.1080/11038128.2017.1335775. PMID28573894. S2CID45345439.
^Yalon-Chamovitz, Shira (October 2009). "Invisible Access Needs of People With Intellectual Disabilities: A Conceptual Model of Practice". Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 47 (5): 395–400. doi:10.1352/1934-9556-47.5.395. PMID19842744.
