From Community Presence to Community Inclusion

Supporting inclusive community lives for individuals accessing services can be challenging work. This course was designed to: raise awareness of opportunities for inclusion; share strategies for nurturing and maintaining friendships and support networks; and provide guidance on how to measure progress.

Community Disability Services professionals are in the unique and privileged position to enhance the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities. This course will help learners recognize the language around inclusion and integration. It will also have learners examine their beliefs about community inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities.

The four focuses of this course are

1. Understanding social integration and community inclusion
2. Identifying and creating opportunities for social inclusion
3. Strategies for nurturing and maintaining friendships
4. Measuring and reporting progress on social inclusion

This course was developed in collaboration between the Alberta Council of Disability Services (Doreen Hogarth), the Alberta Association for Community Living (Bruce Uditsky), and the University of Calgary (Dr. E. Anne Hughson). It is delivered online, so that learners can study at their own pace, with self-tests and final tests included to assess learning. The completion time is approximately three hours.

For more information about this course, watch this video

For more information, and to register, please visit the Events page