Seminar on Developmental Disabilities

3 credits · Undergraduate

Before delving into the many controversies in the disability field, this course first addresses such fundamentals as different models of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD’s; e.g., medical and social models, neurodiversity), the history of the field, and the strengths and challenges of people with specific etiologies of IDD (e.g., environmental, autism spectrum disorder, genetic syndromes). The seminar then focuses on a range of pressing concerns for people with IDD (e.g., disparities in healthcare, advances in prenatal genetic testing, needs of families, and inequities in the penal system). In doing so, the seminar intersects with divergent perspectives from medicine, genetics, law, social justice, psychology, education, public opinion and social policies. [3]