By being a pioneer in occupational therapy within the Israeli-Arab community and developing cutting-edge technology for assessment and accessibility, Dr. Alexandra Danial-Saad of University of Haifa’s Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences is reshaping how people with disabilities access public, cultural, and educational spaces through advanced technology. She spoke with the American Friends of the University of Haifa (AFUH) about her journey, her innovative research, and her vision for inclusive, culturally grounded education.

You’ve been part of University of Haifa since you were 18. What brought you here — and led you to stay after all these years?

I came to Haifa very young, and from the beginning, it felt like a home that supports academic, professional, and personal growth. The University’s openness, diversity, and human spirit immediately resonated with me.

Over the years, Haifa has always remained the right place. When you enter a classroom here, you encounter a true mosaic of cultures — Jewish, Arab, religious, secular — which shapes teaching, research, and dialogue in ways you don’t find everywhere. That diversity is not just symbolic; it’s integral to how the University functions and how I teach students, preparing them for real-world practice where occupational therapists work with people from different cultural, social, and personal backgrounds.

Can you describe your work and research focus?

I work in occupational therapy within the education, health, and social sciences framework, and my work constantly moves between teaching, applied practice, and research. For me, these elements are inseparable.

The goal of occupational therapy is to enhance people’s quality of life and enable meaningful participation in daily activities. Occupational therapy serves people from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, across their lifespan — from early childhood to old age — and across the health continuum, from wellness to illness. 

My research focuses on how individuals interact with their environments, particularly through technology, and how we can design assessment tools, learning processes, and assistive systems can be designed, adapted, and effectively implemented to meet human needs in meaningful and measurable ways.

But developing a tool is only part of the journey. A significant focus of my research is technology implementation, studying how organizations actually adopt and integrate innovative technologies into their interventions. You can create the most sophisticated assessment tool, but if clinicians don’t use it, or use it incorrectly, it won’t help anyone. I study the barriers and facilitators that determine whether a new technology becomes part of everyday practice or sits unused on a shelf. This implementation research bridges the gap between innovation and real-world impact.

Equally important is preparing the next generation. Beyond developing technological tools, a central focus of my current research is understanding how future professionals are prepared to use technology in practice.

I study how students and early-career clinicians acquire the knowledge, skills, and professional mindset required to meaningfully integrate technology into therapeutic intervention.

I strongly believe in integrating research into my teaching so that students see continuity: students learn that theory informs practice, practice raises questions, and those questions become research projects.

Technology has played a major role in your career. How did that interest develop?

It began in 1989, when I worked at Opera Don Guanella, a special education center in Nazareth. I noticed that children’s motivation skyrocketed when technology was involved — much more than with any other tool. At the time, computers were rare in education, and I had to convince the administration to bring one in. The impact was immediate: engagement improved, participation increased, and, surprisingly, not being allowed to use the computer became a form of punishment!

That experience shaped my professional path. I began studying technology independently in the field and answered my questions through academic research at the University during my master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral studies. My career has been a constant dialogue between field needs and academic research, which has guided much of my teaching and projects. Decades later, that fascination with how people interact with technology led to a realization: our assessment tools were outdated. We were evaluating people’s motor skills with paper and pencil tests while they spent their days using smartphones and tablets. That gap inspired TATOO, the Touchscreen Assessment Tool for Objective Evaluation, which measures how people actually interact with the technology they use every day. Currently, I’m working on integrating eye-tracking technology and AI capabilities into these systems to make assessments even more precise and accessible.

One of your standout projects involves interdisciplinary learning and museum accessibility. Can you tell us about it?

Together with Prof. Tsvika Kuflik from the Department of Information Systems, we developed a graduate-level course that brings together students from occupational therapy and information systems for a full semester. The course is built on principles of problem-based learning (PBL) and user-centered design principles, fostering close interdisciplinary collaboration.

There, students collaborate to design and develop accessible museum environments for blind visitors and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. they explore the potential of advanced technologies, from intelligent audio guides to tactile interfaces, to create meaningful, inclusive museum experiences, with a particular focus on the Hecht Museum.

A central and defining element of the course is the direct involvement of end users. Members of the blind community and people with intellectual disabilities — were directly involved throughout the entire process: They defined their needs, tested prototypes, evaluated usability, and provided critical feedback. Based on this input, students refined and improve their solutions. As a result, two projects became published research articles.

This course exemplifies my approach: interdisciplinary collaboration, experiential learning, real-world engagement, and research that leads to tangible social impact. The course is supported by the Shalem Foundation, the University’s innovation programs, and the Office of the Dean of Students, and it continues to produce meaningful accessibility solutions each year.

How do you approach teaching in such a diverse classroom?

Content knowledge is necessary, but it’s not enough. Students come from different backgrounds, learning styles, and life experiences, and this richness is fascinating. Effective teaching means presenting the same material in ways that are accessible and connecting it to students’ lives, environments, and contexts by using culturally grounded case studies, pictures, and visual materials.

In addition, when using non-traditional approaches — like PBL or heutagogy — it’s crucial to explain the method and its purpose. Students need to understand not just what they’re learning, but how and why, fostering independent learning. Otherwise, they can easily feel lost.

Empathy is a key element of culturally relevant pedagogy. It opens doors in teaching, learning, and life. I learned from this experience that when we allow students to meet real people, hear real stories, and solve real problems, they become much more than degree holders. They become people with a mission who know that their intervention, tailored to the individual’s needs, can change lives.

What do you love most about teaching?

Seeing the spark in students’ eyes. You can’t manufacture it, it just happens. Someone connects a theory to a patient they’ve seen, or suddenly understands why accessibility matters. That moment of deep, internal shift is why I teach. Interestingly, online environments sometimes make this spark even more visible.

You were among the first Arab occupational therapists in Israel. What has that journey been like?

I was one of the very first three Arab students in the country studying occupational therapy. I enrolled in the inaugural cohort when the Department of Occupational Therapy was first established here at the University of Haifa. Back then, the profession was almost unknown in the Arab community. Many people confused it with physiotherapy or massage.

I even had to translate the profession into Arabic, and unfortunately, the first translation I chose was incorrect. That mistake still follows me, and it has shaped my ongoing commitment to accurate and culturally appropriate translation in research and practice — not just linguistic correctness, but conceptual and cultural accuracy. This experience drives my current work on translating and adapting professional assessment tools into Arabic, ensuring that our diagnostic instruments are both linguistically accurate and culturally meaningful.

What does it mean to be an Arab-Israeli professor at Haifa?

I’ve never felt that my identity alone defined me. I’m first and foremost a professional, a researcher, and a lecturer, and human being.

At the same time, my cultural perspective enriches discussions and decision-making. It allows me to represent perspectives that might otherwise be overlooked and to advocate for inclusive academic practices.

My advancement has always been based on my research, teaching, and persistence, not simply my identity.

Looking ahead, what do you hope to see in your research over the next decade?

I want research to fully reflect the reality that technology and occupational therapy are culturally embedded. Assessment tools, questionnaires, and evaluation methods must be accurate and culturally appropriate — not simply translated using Google or AI shortcut tools.

My vision is to establish a dedicated center at the University supporting culturally grounded translation for Arabic, Russian, Amharic, and other language communities. Research should be both scientifically rigorous and humanly precise.

In addition, I am trying to make touchscreen technology accessible for all ages and diverse abilities. I’m particularly excited about continuing to develop TATOO with AI integration and eye-tracking capabilities.

If you weren’t an academic, what would you be doing?

I’m an occupational therapist at heart. But beyond that, I would work with teenagers. They are our future. I would want to help them discover who they are, understand their strengths, and navigate their paths with confidence, in a way that truly fits who they are. Helping people shape meaningful lives is a calling for me.