Course Description
This course is designed to expose students to a variety of perspectives regarding disability. Content topics will include: typical responses to diversity, language and labels, disability theory, models of disability, disability culture, advocacy and self advocacy.
Course Content
The following global ideas guide the design and delivery of this course:
- Personal autonomy is a fundamental principle that must be protected if each person is to freely develop, pursue and review his/her life plan on an ongoing basis.
- Self-determination can be viewed as the outcome of autonomy. Self-determination flourishes when people are in interdependent relationships that promote and support autonomy.
- Practitioners, as facilitators of inclusion, individualize support for people with disabilities to ensure that each person’s interests, preferences and needs are recognized and met. Economic realities, environmental barriers, and societal attitudes that face many people with disabilities mean that practitioners must be creative problem solvers.
- Quality of life is a multifaceted concept with various social and psychological indicators that can be measured in terms of both process and outcome. The process most effective for achieving personal satisfaction regarding ones quality of life depends upon the nature and severity of a person’s disability. The nature and severity of a persons disability, however, does not determine the level of ones quality of life.
- Relationships are an integral aspect of everyone’s lives. An expanded network of relationships includes relationships with a variety of professionals and other community resource people. Maximizing opportunities to involve others directly with the person being supported in positive ways is important to achieving quality of life.
Means of Assessment
This course will conform to Douglas College policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations.
- Portfolio
- Group Presentations
- Quiz
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Examine how cultural influences shape our view of people who are labelled as disabled.
- Examines own values, language and perspective regarding people who are labelled as being disabled
- Describes Autistic, Disability, Deaf and Mad cultures origins, purpose & influence
- Investigate international perspectives regarding disability
- Link cultural influences to disability theory
2. Investigate disability theory from an interdisciplinary social policy point-of-view.
- Defines disability theory and trace it’s historical development
- Consider current disability theory context and influence
- Compares and contrasts several theoretical models of disability such as: moral, medical, developmental, social, affirmative.
- Contrasts and compares disability rights with other minority/civil rights movements
3. Identify opportunities and evaluate context for self-advocacy, advocacy and support
- Describes what advocacy means for people labelled as disabled, their personal support networks and practitioners
- Reviews historical examples of advocacy opportunities, e.g., right to die/live, court challenges,bio-medical ethics, etc.
- Reflects on what values, skills and resources contribute to effective self-advocacy and support
- Explains why medical advocacy is a frequent necessity
- Describes “self-determination” and appreciates that everyone has gifts and capacities