Professor Liane Simon studied Special Education, is systemic therapist (DGSF) and completed her doctoral degree at the University of Hamburg in the Institute for Special Needs Education.

Since 1993, she manages the Diakonie Frühförderung (equiv. early childhood intervention) Norderstedt.

Since 1998 she is involved in the steering committee of the Vereinigung Interdisziplinäre Frühförderung (equiv. Association of Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Intervention), Ländervereinigung Nord e.V.. For the duration of ten years, she was chairperson. Besides, she is member of the advisory board of the Bundesvereinigung Interdisziplinäre Frühförderung (equiv. Federal Association of Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Intervention).

Professor Liane Simon is member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Systemische Familientherapie (DGSF) (German Society for Systemic Family Therapy).

Since 2014, she is program director for Transdisciplinary Early Childhood Intervention at MSH Medical School Hamburg.

In 2015, she also took role to lead the Department »Family, Child and Social Work«.

Since 2014, Liane Simon attends the annual and semi-annual meetings on the Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC) of the World Health Organization as a consulting member of the German delegation (dimdi).

Since 2016, she is appointed member of the advisory board of the Nationalen Zentrum Frühe Hilfen (NZFH) (equiv. National Centre for Early Support) at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.

Teaching

For many years, Liane Simon held roles as Assistant Lecturer at the University of Hamburg in the Department of Educational Sciences in the Institute for Special Needs Education. She was further Assistant Lecturer for the degree Early Interventions at the SRH University of Applied Health Sciences in Gera. At MSH Medical School Hamburg, she teaches since 2010 and has here conceptualized the undergraduate degrees »Transdisciplinary Early Childhood Intervention« and »Social Work«, as well as the Master degree »Social Work«.

Research Focus

One research focus of Professor Simon is the international classification of the functionality, disability and health of WHO (ICF). In 2004, she has developed a checklist in collaboration with Professor Olaf Kraus de Camargo (McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada) and examined its application in Early Childhood Intervention processes. Further, she has been involved in the German translation of the ICF-CY and in the development of national checklists for children- and adolescents.

Since 2007 she travels through Germany to present on this topic and also presents at international conferences.

Currently she is cooperation partner, representing MSH, in the international project »mICF« in which an app is to be developed for ICF patients. By order of the Functioning and Disability Reference Group (FDRG) of the World Health Organization, a group of international experts collaborates on the app development for patients with the objective for patients to describe their health, based on ICF-criteria.

The Vereinigung Interdisziplinäre Frühförderung (VIFF) (equiv. Association Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Intervention) has commissioned her to develop, in collaboration with Professor Andreas Seidel (Fachhochschule Nordhausen), a curriculum to apply ICF in the Early Childhood Intervention stages in Germany.

Furthermore, she leads an MSH supported research project named »Nutzung der ICF in Deutschland« (equiv. Use of ICF in Germany). The first research phase (2015-2016) is currently being completed, in which the ICF use has been examined in Early Intervention projects in Hamburg. The 2^nd research phase is projected to commence in 2017.

In her function as member of the German delegation (dimdi) at the meetings of the World Health Organization – Family of International Classifications – she has worked on selection criteria for the recognition of ICF-Experts and –teachers at WHO, in collaboration with colleagues of Italy, Korea, Finland and Japan.

Professor Simon’s research focus and key interest in Early Intervention of Children with (potential) disabilities is the parental support, interdisciplinary collaboration and systemic approaches of complex performances in Early Intervention support.

Since 2016 she is member of the advisory board of the Nationales Zentrum Frühe Hilfen (NZFH) (equiv. National Centre for Early Support) at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.

» ICF Research Institute

Publications

• Kaffka-Backmann, M., Simon, L., & Grunwaldt, A. (2007). Praktische Erfahrungen mit der Verwendung einer ICF-Checkliste für die interdisziplinäre Frühförderung ("ICF-Checkliste IFF") in:  Frühförderung Interdisziplinär, 26(4), 167-172.
• Simon, L., Kraus de Camargo, O. (2008): Professionelles Rollenverständnis verschiedener Disziplinen in der Interdisziplinären Frühförderung, in: Praxis Psychomotorik, Heft 1, 33. Jahrgang, 4-7, verlag modernes lernen, Dortmund.
• Simon, L., Seidel, A. (2010): Anwendung der ICF-CY für die Behandlungsplanung, in: Praxis Ergotherapie, Jg. 23(5), 275-278, verlag modernes lernen, Dortmund
• Simon, L., Seidel, A. (2012): Anwendung der ICF-CY Checkliste in der Frühförderung, in: Gebhardt, B., Henning, B., Leyendecker, C. (Hrsg.): Interdisziplinäre Frühförderung, 182-185, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart
• Kraus de Camargo, O., Simon. (2013): Die ICF-CY in der Praxis, Huber, Bern
• Seidel, A. , Simon, L. (2014): Funktion und Bedeutung der ICF-CY in der Praxis der Interdisziplinären Frühförderung in Deutschland, in: Sonderpädagogische Förderung heute, Heft 2/2014, Juventa, Weinheim
• Simon, L. (2014):Qualitätskriterien ICF-basierter Elternberatung in der frühen Sprachförderung, HPB, Berlin
• Martinuzzi, A., Yokobori, Y., Sykes, C., Leonardi, M., Simon, L., Hong, J., van Goel, C., Almborg, H., Paltamaa, J., Veys, J. (2015): Criteria for ICF consultants and educators, Poster  at Meeting WHO-Family Of International Classifications Network Annual Meeting, Manchester.
• Anttila, H., Maribo, T., Kraus de Camargo, O., Coenen, M., Martins, A., Hiekkala, S., De Klerk, S., Paltamaa, J., Simon, L., Stalinga, H., Steiner, S. (2016): A new dynamic tool for mICF content development – the FunctionMapper, Poster 10/2016, Conference: WHO-Family of international Classifications Network Annual Meeting, Tokyo
• Simon, L., Kindervater, A., Irmler, M. (2016): Educating and Implementing ICF in Early Childhood Intervention Centers in Germany
  Poster  10/2016, Conference: WHO Family Of International Classifications Network Annual Meeting 2016 Tokyo.
• Simon, L., Seidel, A. (2016): Implementierung der ICF in der Frühförderung in Deutschland – Aus- und Fortbildungsaspekte, in: Frühförderung interdisziplinär 35(3), 138-145.
• Simon, L., Seidel, A. (2016): Wie kann Kontextorientierung gelingen?, in: Gebhardt, B., Seidel, A., Sohns, A., Möller-Dreischer, S. (Hrsg.): Frühförderung mittendrin – in Familie und Gesellschaft, 182-188.

ResearchGate