Goals

The goal of the MA program in the Development of Children with Special Needs is to expand the knowledge of health professionals who are interested and engaged in the field of child development, especially those who work with special needs children, and to instill in them the awareness, the understanding and the importance of multiprofessional approaches.

We believe that these professionals, who carry out such a vital and sensitive role, have an acute need to better understand the principles that govern the work of each and every therapist who treats special needs children, the roles of parents in the raising of their special needs child, and the ways in which to utilize the strengths of children with functional disabilities and their parents in order to enhance the overall care of both the child and the family. During their studies, the students will acquire the tools to develop professionally as well as the skills to manage multiprofessional systems which treat children with special needs. Additionally, participants in the program will be exposed to basic principles of research regarding the development of special needs children.

The degree program trains students to develop innovative, user-centered design solutions for diverse populations, integrating creativity, technology, and research.

The proposed program is unique in that it focuses on the development of special needs children from birth to age 18 and hence it is unlike other graduate programs that deal with child development. It should be noted that the diagnosis and treatment of child development in Israel is not restricted to early age. The developmental care system treats children up to the age of 9, although the National Health Law “basket” provides fewer services for children above age 6. Most of the additional elective health insurance programs include developmental services up to the age of 12. Moreover, the difficult somatic cases (Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, autism, etc. which account for about a quarter of the children in the developmental services), are supposed to be cared for by the developmental care system until age 18. For this reason, the program places an emphasis on all ages.

The primary goal of the program is thus the provide the student with broad multiprofessional knowledge regarding the diagnosis and care of children with developmental challenges. The program trains professional managers for the developmental care system, as well as team leaders and trainers who will be able to develop and further existing professional training programs in each of the system’s components. Additionally, the program will deepen the professional’s knowledge in auxiliary areas of care, a fact that is expected to improve the treatment of the child with multiple challenges.

Program Description

Studies during the 4-semester, 2-year program are concentrated on one day a week. In the first semester, lectures focus on basic disciplines such as neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and psychology, followed in the second semester by more interdisciplinary topics including a seminar on reading and constructing scientific and professional studies, writing of professional papers, basic statistics and a course in managing interdisciplinary professional teams. In addition to more general issues like the role of parents and family in caring for children with special needs. In the second year there is a clinical seminar where each student describes one or two children with different neurodevelopmental problems which is discussed by the student, entire class, as well as by clinically experienced lecturers that represent different disciplines (i.e. medicine, psychology, physiotherapy, speech therapy, etc.). We also teach a course on learning difficulties and the role of the family in daily treatment of the child with special needs. All students must write a comprehensive final paper in order to graduate. For more information in Hebrew click here.

Admissions Requirements

  • Undergraduate Degree from a recognized institution of higher learning in a health-related or therapeutic profession such as special education, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, social work, nursing, medicine, behavioral science, optometry or creativity-based or expression-based therapy
  • Average grade of 85 in the first degree
  • Admission of applicants from other related professions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • Applicants whose mother tongue is not Hebrew are required to achieve a score of 130 on the Yael Hebrew language test.
  • Personal Interview by the admissions committee

*The number of part-time students accepted to the program will not exceed 10%.

The program has been authorized by the Council for Higher Education in Israel and the awarding of the degree is conditional on its final certification.

For more information in Hebrew click here.

Faculty and Staff 

Contact Us

Department Coordinator
ehealth@jmc.ac.il
+972 2 6291320