Online Certificate in Disability Inclusion & Accessible Design

The Online Certificate in Disability Inclusion and Accessible Design (DIAD) is designed for social workers and other professionals who are interested in developing skills and sharpening their lens related to disability inclusion, and who strive to make their practice more accessible to and relevant for people with disabilities. The program faculty includes scholars, activists, and others working on the frontlines of disability inclusion and accessibility. Participants will learn about pertinent policy issues affecting people with disabilities, anti-ableist language and practices, accessible interpersonal clinical practice skills, disability inclusive community organizing skills, how to create inclusive management structures and organizational policies, among other topics. Participants will also receive training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines, understand the limitations of ADA standards, and gain the knowledge and skills to evaluate and assess built environments and institutional policies for ADA compliance and beyond.

Participants will complete 18 online social work continuing education credits including:

• 17 hours of self-directed video lectures
• 1 hour of live online Q&A with the certificate lead instructor

Curriculum

Content Areas

• Language, Norms & Disability Inclusion in Practice
• Ethical Considerations in Disability Inclusion
• Disability Justice: A Roadmap for Liberatory Policy & Practice
• Combating Racism & Ableism: An interview with Baba Baxter
• Survivors with Disabilities: The Intersection of Disability and Domestic and Sexual Violence
• Intersections of Sexuality and Disability
• Understanding and Engaging Ableist Microaggressions
• Cultivating Circles of Friends
• Disability: A Policy Perspective
• Accessibility
• Disability & Design
• Disability Inclusion in Organizational Management
• Disability Inclusion in Organizing
• Accessible Teaching and Universal Design
• Counseling People with Disabilities
• Elder Law and Disability Rights
• Caregiving as Healing Justice

Learning Objectives

1. Define ableism and describe how it harms people with disabilities and others.
2. Apply disability inclusion principles in practice.
3. Identify appropriate and inappropriate language and "normative behaviors" when describing with people with disabilities, disability culture, and the movement for disability justice.
4. Describe how disability inclusion aligns with social work values and ethics.
5. Describe how racism and anti-Blackness is intrinsically linked and perpetuated by ableism.
6. Describe how racism, sexism, gender violence, and other forms of oppression intersect to compound oppression faced by people with disabilities and additional marginalized identities.
7. Explain the need for body-positive and sex-positive representations that are inclusive of people with disabilities.
8. Describe the "circle of friends" approach to supporting people with disabilities.
9. Describe how the Americans with Disabilities Act impacts the lives of people with disabilities.
10. Identify areas in which the Americans with Disabilities act could be strengthened.
11. Explain how specific local, state, and federal policies and programs impact people with disabilities.
12. Create more accessible and inclusive learning experiences and environments.
13. Assess, evaluate, and make recommendations to modify built and social infrastructure to be more accessible for people with an array of disabilities.
14. Create more accessible and inclusive organizational environments through culture-building, policies, and practices.
15. Identify strategies to be more inclusive of people with disabilities in community organizing and advocacy efforts.
16. Describe ways to create a more accessible interpersonal practice for people with disabilities.
17. Describe how ableism impacts the older adults with disabilities, elder law, and elder advocacy.
18. Identify issues, stressors, and stigmatization that caregivers face and identify strategies to support them.

Teaching Methods

This certificate program is a self-directed online learning experience that uses our web-based learning management system, Canvas. Each module features pre-recorded self-paced lectures and other resource materials. The program also features ongoing opportunities to meet with the certificate lead faculty for drop-in interactive question-and-answer session hosted via Zoom.

For the live interactive sessions, participants require access to high-speed Internet and a computer with a camera and microphone. You do not need special skills to participate successfully in a distance-learning environment. We will provide detailed, user-friendly instructions and technical support.

We are dedicated to prioritizing the accessibility needs of participants in this program. If you have any questions or concerns related to your learning needs, please contact [email protected].

Fees

$275 for the 18-hour certificate program

$225 for U-M SSW field instructors, faculty, and staff.

Continuing Ed Credits

The University of Michigan School of Social Work, provider #1212, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 5/15/2026-5/15/2029. Social workers completing this course will receive 18 continuing education credits.