Project Description:
The Center on Disability and Development's Interdisciplinary Training Program provides an opportunity to study the complex social, political, cultural, and educational issues that surround individuals with disabilities and their families. Our focus on disability studies supports the formation of teachers, activists, practitioners, and researchers who are interested in the phenomenon of disability from various disciplinary perspectives.
Our program prepares graduate throughout the College of Education and Human Development as well as students from other colleges wishing to make the program part of their degree plan. Our current Fellows are engaged in research, policy, and service projects that make an impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. Our program will increase the number of qualified personnel across disciplines that can provide services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities.
We are in the process of developing a program that will include a certificate program for students who wish to focus their graduate studies on the area of Disability Studies. Our proposal follows:
Proposed Interdisciplinary Training in Disability Studies Program in the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University
Program Description: The proposed program will be an interdisciplinary training program that is overseen by the Center on Disability and Development. This Disability Studies Program will focus on the complex social, political, cultural, and educational issues that surround individuals with disabilities and their families and will be interdisciplinary in nature. It will address the need to increase qualified and appropriately trained personnel across disciplines to provide services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. Students completing the program will receive a Certificate in Disability Studies that will become part of the student's transcript.
Participants: The program will prepare graduate students currently seeking a Master?s or Doctoral degree from programs throughout the College of Education and Human Development as well as students from other colleges wishing to make the program part of their degree plan.
Program Components: The ITP-CDD will consist of 15 credit hours designed to be taken across two academic years and will consist of three components:
1) Seminars in Disability Studies (3 hours): These seminars will expose students to current research and programs addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities. One seminar will take place each semester and will provide an introduction to the most critical issues confronting individuals with disabilities and their families in today?s society.
2) Support Coursework (6 hours): Students will enroll in an additional two support courses that focus on disability issues from one major areas of emphasis including: special education, educational psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, kinesiology, health, curriculum and instruction, educational administration or human resources. Other courses and disciplines may be considered with approval from the Program Director. Sample courses that may be taken for support coursework might include:
EPSY 618: Neurodevelopment and Genetic Disorders in Children
EPSY 647: Adult Development and Aging
CPSY 626: Psychopathology
CPSY 671: Dying and Bereavement
SPED 614: Moderate to Severe Disabilities
SPED 632: Transition
SPSY 610: Child Psychopathology
SPSY 641: Child Therapy for School Behavior Problems
EDCI 650: The Bilingual/Multicultural Young Child in Family and in Culture
HLTH 660: Health Issues in Aging, Dying, and Death
KINE 625: Disabling Conditions and Health Impairments
3. Practicum experiences within the CDD (6 credits): Students will participate on a research team led by a faculty member who is part of the CDD across two semesters or will participate in a professional experience that addresses current social, individuals with developmental disabilities. These experiences may focus on classroom instruction, disability policy, family support services, transition issues, or community extension. 2) During the second semester in the program, students will develop a product that addresses the needs of individuals with disabilities or the disability community. This product may include a professional conference, training, white paper, dissemination material.
