Community Approaches, Advocacy and Empowerment

Undergraduate

Students will critically review traditional approaches to professional practice with people with disabilities, with special attention to the role of the professional. Using case studies, students will explore professional intervention strategies that promote full participation and equality for people with disabilities. Other themes include self-determination and choice, supporting disability rights and self- advocacy organizations, and building alliances. Recognizing how important family is to many people with disabilities, this course will also explore the implications of the views and experiences of family members. Stressing the need for empowerment, this course introduces students to social change movements as led by people in search of full citizenship who have disabilities. The implications for empowerment, created by the advent of new technologies, is also explored. (Prerequisite for Social Work/Disability Studies students: ICDS 2010. Prerequisite for all other students: ICDS-3020.)