Direct Support Professional

Direct Support Professional Module 1    
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

• Should Disability Terms Be Used?
• Disability Terms in Today’s Context
• Historical Overview of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
• Expansion of Disability as Difference
• Changing Perspectives
• Understanding Disabilities
• Social Model of Disability
• Trends and Issues

Direct Support Professional Module 2    
Advocacy 

• International Human Rights and Intellectual Disabilities
• Advocacy and Legal Considerations
• Models of Action
• Development of the Self-Advocacy Movement
• Self-Advocacy as a Social Movement
• Strategies to Promote Advocacy and Self-Advocacy
• Making Services More Effective Through Research and Evaluation

Direct Support Professional Module 3   
Human Development

• Introduction to Early Development
• Stages of Development Before Birth
• Important Processes in Prenatal Development
• Complications
• Development After Birth
• Genetics, Genomics, Epigenetics
• Nervous System
• Brain Plasticity

Direct Support Professional Module 4
Etiology and Conditions

• Factors Causing or Contributing to Intellectual and Development Disabilities
• Biomedical Risk Factors
• Down Syndrome
• Fragile X Syndrome
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome 

Direct Support Professional Module 5    
Etiology and Conditions Part 2

• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Challenges
• Cerebral Palsy
• Other Syndromes and Conditions
• Epilepsy
• Introduction to Behavior and Mental Health

Direct Support Professional Module 6    
Support and Intervention

• Assessment, Diagnosis, Interventions, and Services
• Intellectual and Developmental Disability Service Systems and Service Approaches
• Roles, Skills, and Competencies of Direct Support Professionals
• Responding to Cultural and Linguistic Differences
• Defining Culture
• Behavioral Intervention

Direct Support Professional Module 7   
Support and Intervention Part 2

• Challenging Families
• Challenging Service Systems
• Psychopharmacology
• History of Psychoactive Medication
• Speech, Language, and Communication Assessments and Interventions
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Direct Support Professional Module 8    
Disabilities Through the Life Span

• Typical Milestones Achieved in the First 1,000 Days
• Factors Important for Development
• Early Intervention for Young Children
• Inclusive Early Education
• Maltreatment of Children with Developmental Disabilities
• Education for Students
• Transition from School to Adult Life
• Work and Employment for People with Disabilities

Direct Support Professional Module 9    
Lifestyles and Support 

• Lifestyles of Adults with Disabilities
• Historical Evolution of Policies and Services
• Providing Support that Enhances a Family’s Quality of Life
• Families as Dynamic Systems
• Sexuality
• Parenting by People with Disabilities
• Gender Issues
• Aging

Direct Support Professional Module 10
Health 

• Ethics of Decision Making and Consent
• Supporting Moral Agency
• Physical Health
• Mental Health Needs
• Nutritional Considerations
• Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
• Future Trends and Advances

**Outlines are subject to change, as courses and materials are updated.**