- Lecture
- Small Group Work
- Student Presentations
- Online
The following global ideas guide the design and delivery of this course:
- Individuals with disabilities are unique, though they may carry a label of disability.
- Effective practitioners have an awareness of disability classification and funding systems and use this knowledge as a tool of support.
- Effective practitioners are aware of typical characteristics of a variety of disability types and how that might affect support
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Explain various disability classification systems as they relate to disability definitions, assessment and diagnosis
- Investigate terminology used in disability classifications systems
- Consider the historical progression of disability classification systems
- Define disability in the Canadian context
- Compare and contrast the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) with other classification and assessment models, e.g. AAIDD, ICD, ICF, DM-ID, RTI
2. Describe characteristics of a variety of mental and physical disability labels
- Examine the etiology, prevalence and incidence of various major disability labels
- Compare and contrast types of disability, i.e. cognitive versus physical; invisible versus visible; acquired versus development; progressives versus intermittent versus stable
- Consider the additional complexities of dual (multiple) diagnosis
- Keep in mind that a disability is what someone has, not what someone is and that knowledge about a disability type is only a single tool in supporting an individual who has a disability
3. Explore the eligibility to funding for typical support and treatment services for several disability labels.
- Describe the assessment process for several exceptionalities, such as ASD, FASD, mental illnesses, intellectual disability
- Describe the funding eligibility and process for several exceptionalities, such as ASD, FASD, mental illness and intellectual disability.
This is a letter graded course
- Quizzes
- Group Presentations
- Case Study
- Research paper
T.B.A.