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Top Free Online Courses on Disability, Diversity and Inclusion

Providing Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Special Education Services in School

Providing Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Special Education Services in School is a free online course offered by the University of Colorado System in the United States. The class is the third of four courses required for the university’s School Health for Children and Adolescents Specialization, but can also be taken on its own. Although the course is self-paced, the instructor recommends completing the video lectures and supplemental assignments over an eight-week period. With this schedule, most students will need to spend approximately nine hours on the class each week. The purpose of the class is to explore ways that schools can support the mental health of special education students. Modules include Introduction to Mental Health in Schools, Tier 1 Interventions, Tier 2 Interventions, and Tier 3 Interventions.

Defending Dignity: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

70 years ago, on 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a revolutionary new document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). What made the Declaration revolutionary was that the UN member states acknowledged that all human beings all over the world were born with the same, indivisible human rights, and all nations and all people had a right and a duty to stand up for the rights of everybody else. On this course you will get an introduction to the UDHR, and discover ways you can take action to defend and claim your rights, and the rights of others.

Managing ADHD, Autism, Learning Disabilities, and Concussion in School

Managing ADHD, Autism, Learning Disabilities, and Concussion in School is a free online course offered by the University of Colorado System in the United States. The class is the second of four courses required for the university’s School Health for Children and Adolescents Specialization; however, students are also free to enroll in the course as a standalone class. Anyone who works in education and is interested in learning more about how schools can set students with attention deficit disorder, autism, concussions, and learning disabilities up for success. Students can complete the course at a pace that fits their schedules. The entire class takes roughly five hours to complete and includes one video lecture module devoted to each of the four conditions mentioned in the title.

American Deaf Culture

American Deaf Culture is a free online course offered by the University of Houston in the United States. Through this course, students will explore the culture of the deaf community in America and see how it has evolved over time. The class can be beneficial for anyone who works with members of the deaf community as well as parents of deaf children. Self-paced, the class consists of six video modules with supplemental activities, readings, assignments, and quizzes. Each module takes approximately one hour to complete. The topics of the modules are: Discrimination and Audism; What Is American Deaf Culture? – An Introduction; “My Child Is Born Deaf” – Language Acquisition; What Is American Deaf Culture? – An Overview; Education and The Law As It Affects The American Deaf Community; and History of American Deaf Community. Students take a final exam at the end of the class.

Well and Able – Improving the Physical Health of People with Intellectual Disability

Well and Able – Improving the Physical Health of People with Intellectual Disability is a free online course offered by the University of Queensland in Australia. The class can be beneficial for anyone who works with individuals who have intellectual disabilities and requires no educational or work experience prerequisites. Students should expect to spend one to two hours each week of the five-week course watching the videos and completing the supplemental assignments. The course includes the following modules: Health and Intellectual Disability, Health Checks and Presentations, Accessing Care, and Health Promotion. By the end of the class, students will be aware of health conditions that commonly affect people with intellectual disabilities, how accommodations can be made for health assessments and the challenges of complex care.

Disability and Digital Media: Accessibility, Representation and Inclusion

Disability and Digital Media: Accessibility, Representation and Inclusion is an online course offered by Curtin University in Australia. The class is free to enroll in on an audit basis. Those who wish to have their assignments and exams graded will need to pay a $99 fee. During the four-week class, students will explore how media is altering perceptions of disabilities and increasing inclusion. Students should expect to spend three to four hours on the class each week, completing one of the video modules and the supplemental readings, quizzes and assignments that accompany the recorded lectures. The modules include: Introducing Digital Disability, Disability and Social Media, Accessibility and The Digital World, and The future of Digital Disability. There are no work experience requirements or education prerequisites for enrollment.

The Role of Personal Assistants in Disability Support

The Role of Personal Assistants in Disability Support is a free online course offered by the University of East Anglia in England, United Kingdom. Ideal for anyone who cares for or works with individuals who have disabilities, the class explores the benefits of personal assistants. The class lasts for four weeks and requires a time commitment of roughly two hours per week. Each week, students will watch video lectures and complete supplemental readings and assignments to deepen their understanding of the course material. Main topics of focus for the course include: Recruitment: finding the right fit; What sort of personal assistance relationship works for you?; Understanding potential difficulties in personal assistance relationships; Understanding and managing practical difficulties; Understanding and managing personal difficulties; Understanding and managing process difficulties; Understanding and resolving conflict; and Moving forward with personal assistance relationships.

Improving Health Assessments for People with an Intellectual Disability

Improving Health Assessments for People with an Intellectual Disability is a free online course offered through a partnership between Trinity College Dublin and EIT Health in Ireland. The course is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and The CPD Certification Service and can be used for continuing education credit for a number of health care licenses and certifications. Although there are no educational or work experience prerequisites or requirements, the class is geared toward individuals who currently work or plan to work in health care. The class runs three weeks and is taught through online video lectures. Each week, students will spend roughly two hours watching the videos and completing supplemental assignments and readings. The three video modules are: Health and wellbeing challenges for people with an intellectual disability; Best practices in communicating with people with an intellectual disability in health assessment; and Performing a health assessment for people with an intellectual disability.

Digital Accessibility: Enabling Participation in the Information Society

Digital Accessibility: Enabling Participation in the Information Society is a free online course offered by the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. The class can be beneficial for anyone who is interested in learning how the tech industry, retailers and other companies who provide content online can make their websites more accessible. Taught through video lectures and supplemental assignments, the class lasts for five weeks. Students will need to invest about three hours of study time to the course each week. Topics explored during the course include The definition of digital accessibility, The relationship between usability and user experience, and Specific modifications that can be made to technology to increase accessibility.

Through My Eyes – Intellectual Disability Healthcare around the World

Through My Eyes – Intellectual Disability Healthcare around the World is a free online course offered by the University of Queensland in Australia. This course gives students a unique opportunity to learn about intellectual disability through firsthand accounts and can be of interest to allied health professionals, educators and relatives of disabled individuals. Lasting for four weeks, the class consists of four video module units: Through my eyes; How I look, how I connect; My child, my sibling and health rights; and Staying healthy. Each video module is accompanied by assignments and quizzes. Students will need to invest around one to two hours of study time to the class each week.

Disability Awareness and Support

Disability Awareness and Support is a free online course offered by the University of Pittsburgh in the United States. The class was developed for educators who are striving to create more inclusive environments for students, but it can also be beneficial for parents and caregivers of disabled children. Presented through online video lectures and supplemental assignments, the class is completely self-paced. About seven hours of course material is provided, and the instructor recommends that students complete the work over four weeks, spending one to two hours on the course each week. The first three modules include the following lectures: An Introduction to Disability Awareness; Accommodations and Assistive Technology; and Accessible Design in Education and Application. For the fourth module, students are given case studies to review and discuss on a class discussion board.

Education for All: Disability, Diversity and Inclusion

Education for All: Disability, Diversity and Inclusion is a free online course offered by the University of Cape Town in South Africa. This course is intended for parents, teachers and other education professionals who want to learn more about the importance of inclusion in classrooms and what can be done to foster it. Lasting for six weeks, the class is taught through a series of video lectures. Supplemental readings and assignments are given, and each module requires about three hours of study time to complete. By the end of the class, students will be able to discuss the primary principles and approaches of inclusive education and will have a thorough understanding of what families and communities can do to promote it.

Disability Inclusion in Education: Building Systems of Support

Disability Inclusion in Education: Building Systems of Support is an online course offered by the University of Cape Town in South Africa. The class is free to enroll in, but those who require a certificate of completion will need to pay a fee at the end of the course. Financial aid is available for those with demonstrated need. A beginner level course, the class has no educational prerequisites or work experience requirements. The self-paced class includes 19 hours of video lectures plus supplemental assignments. To simplify the class, the instructor recommends completing the coursework over a five-week period with a time investment of two to three hours each week. The class covers four main topics: How disability relates to social justice; The structures that educators can use to support disabled individuals in the classroom; The role of educators in assisting disabled students; and What impairment specific supports are available for those with certain disabilities.

Make your school human right friendly 

Make Your School Human Rights Friendly is an online course offered by Amnesty International. The introductory course is taught in English and has no job experience or educational prerequisites. During Make Your School Human Rights Friendly, students will learn how to create educational environments where the rights of everyone are respected. The course covers the importance of fostering human rights in schools, how to evaluate the human rights friendliness of educational environments and how to improve conditions for students. The class lasts for three weeks and is taught through online videos, readings and assignments. Students will need to spend roughly one to two hours on the course per week to be successful in the class. Make Your School Human Rights Friendly is a free class that is open to everyone. Students who wish to receive a verified certificate of completion at the end of the class can do so by paying a $49 fee.

Understanding Autism

Understanding Autism is a free online course offered by the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. Although no specific experience is required to enroll, the class is likely to be most beneficial for health care professionals, individuals on the autism spectrum, and family members and caregivers of those on the spectrum. The course lasts for four weeks and will require students to spend about three hours each week watching videos and completing supplemental assignments. At the start of the class, students will receive a definition of autism. Then, the class examines specific aspects of the disorder, including social communication skills, sensory sensitivities, repetitive behaviors, and co-occurring conditions. The course also explores the strengths of individuals with autism and provides firsthand accounts of what it’s like to live with autism.

Good Practice in Autism Education

Good Practice in Autism Education is a free online course offered by the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. The class is geared toward teachers and other education professionals who work directly with autistic students, but the class can also be of use to parents and caregivers of autistic students. During each week of the four-week class, students will spend roughly three hours watching video lectures, participating in online discussions and finishing readings and assignments. By the end of the class, students will have an understanding of what autism is and what intellectual disabilities accompany it. The class also teaches how to develop a curriculum that includes those on the spectrum and best practices for educating autistic individuals.

Able-Minded – Mental Health and People with Intellectual Disability

Able-Minded – Mental Health and People with Intellectual Disability is a free online course offered by the University of Queensland in Australia. The class has no work experience requirements or education prerequisites; however, the course has an intermediate level syllabus. As a result, those with backgrounds in medicine, allied health, disability support, and mental health will find the course most beneficial. The class lasts for five weeks. Each week, students will spend one to two hours completing a video lecture module with supplemental assignments. Topics include Mental Health and Disorders; Assessment and Screening; Challenging or Challenged?; What Management and When?; and Patient Rights and Ethical Dilemmas. At the end of the class students are given a final exam.

Disability and a Good Life: Thinking through Disability

Disability and a Good Life: Thinking through Disability is a free online course offered by the University of New South Wales Sydney in Australia. The six-week class is ideal for anyone who wants to learn more about living with disabilities. Each week, students will complete a module that consists of video lectures and supplemental assignments. The units take about five hours to complete. Subjects covered in the coursework include How the understanding of disability has evolved overtime; The social model is a framework for inclusion; The intersection between disability and other aspects of diversity; and The importance of learning from the stories of those with disabilities.

Social Services for Families, Seniors and Those with Disabilities

Social Services for Families, Seniors and Those with Disabilities is a free online course offered by Columbia University in the United States. The class is available as a standalone course or as a part of the university’s Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners Specialization, which prepares students for master’s degree coursework. Self-paced, the class includes seven hours of video lectures plus assignments and readings. The instructor suggests completing the class over a four-week period, completing one module per week. Modules that make up the course include Policies for Families and Children, Policies for Poor Families and Children, Policies for Persons with Disabilities, and Policies for Older Adults.

Global Health and Disability

Global Health and Disability is a free online course offered through a partnership between the International Centre for Evidence in Disability and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Anyone with an interest in personal disability is invited to enroll. The class can be especially useful for individuals who work in health, rehabilitation, international development, and humanitarian aid. During the three-week course, students will learn about the scope of disability worldwide, what challenges people with disabilities face around the world, and how rehabilitation and health care services can be made more accessible to disabled individuals worldwide. Students should expect to devote three hours of study time to the class each week.

Disability and a Good Life: Working with Disability

Disability and a Good Life: Working with Disability is a free online course offered by the University of New South Wales Sydney in Australia. Individuals with professional or personal interests in disability can benefit from this introductory-level course. Although the class is a follow-up to the course Disability and a Good Life: Thinking Through Disability, it can also be taken on its own. The class lasts for six weeks and involves a time commitment of five hours each week to watch videos, complete readings and work through supplemental assignments. Topics explored in the lecture include the importance of diversity in the work place, international human rights frameworks that apply to disabilities, and how care and support in the workplace can set individuals with disabilities up for success.

Realising Career Potential: Rethinking Disability

Realising Career Potential: Rethinking Disability is a free online course offered by Griffith University in Australia. The class is geared toward the interests and educational needs of a wide range of individuals, including rehabilitation counselors, allied health professionals, individuals with disabilities, and those who work with government policy, trade unions, industrial relations, and personal injury insurance. During each week of the two-week course, students will spend about three hours watching video lectures and completing additional assignments and readings. The class begins with a comparison of the medical and social models of disability, how stereotypes affect individuals with disabilities, and what can be done to overcome those misconceptions to set disabled individuals up for success in rewarding vocations.

Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

What is sex? What is gender? What is sexuality? What do we mean by LGBTQIA? How are these concepts related to the workplace? How have our understandings of these terms changed over time, and how have these changes impacted work and culture? To help you answer these important questions, this course will introduce you to the exciting field of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies, and to LGBTQIA identities. We will use a range of interdisciplinary concepts, tools, and methods to understand and analyze how identity shapes our experiences in culture and in the workplace. Because we all live with gender expectations, this course is crucial for any profession, and for understanding the world around us. Also, you will learn key concepts that will help you to interpret and understand the world we share.

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Human Rights Careers

Human Rights Careers (HRC) provides information about online courses, jobs, paid internships, masters degrees, scholarships and other opportunities in the human rights sector and related areas.