We offer online curricula for emerging professionals that support people with physical and mental disabilities. Covering a growing range of roles, from direct support to employment services, we connect workers to a standardized set of skills that celebrates their contribution to society.
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Date:
Wednesday, December 07, 2011 – Monday, December 31, 2012
Time: On-Demand, Accessible 24 Hours a Day & 7 Days a Week
Location: Online
Description/Summary:
The College of Direct Support’s (CDSs) Film for Thought courses offers learners another way to reflect on the material they have learned through the CDS courses. They present real-life stories of people with disabilities who are living compelling lives. They help learners connect the story in the film to the competencies and skills learned in the College of Direct Support coursework.
Breaking Shells: Art and Steve, follows two men with developmental disabilities, as they cross the state of South Dakota talking to self-advocates about how to take charge of their individual planning processes, thereby empowering them to take charge of the decisions that impact their lives.
Learning Objectives:
Presenter:
Annie Johnson Sirek
Project Coordinator, University of Minnesota
Annie Johnson Sirek is a Project Coordinator at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration, Research and Training Center on Community Living. Prior to her work at the university, Annie worked as a Job Coach and Service Facilitator at a private agency providing employment support and day training/habilitation services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She garnered further experience through a social work practicum at a county agency delivering aging and disability services. Annie has developed several courses as an author and editor in the College of Direct Support (CDS), a standardized, internet-based curriculum for direct support professionals used throughout the United States. She contributes to initiatives of the National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center, coordinating efforts to further develop and professionalize the field. Annie has been a pre-doctoral fellow in the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. She received a Master of Social Work degree and Certificate in Disability Policy and Services from the University of
Minnesota.