Course Description

• Adult Heartsaver CPR: This course will offer certification by either the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross in Life Saving Skills for an adult during varied health emergency situations. Topics covered include CPR, choking intervention and responding to breathing emergencies.
• Adult Heartsaver CPR Retraining: American Heart Association renewal course for adult CPR and choking intervention. Participants must show current card.
• Annual Updates: AM - includes information on infection control, rights/abuse, chemical safety (Right To Know), and Fire Safety. This course content is changed annually and is intended to supplement training received in Pre-Services to keep veteran staff current in these areas. PM - (for residential contact staff)- review of nutrition/food handling, psychological observation skills, and practice with the wheelchair van.
• Assisting with Medications: This course teaches the direct service professional the correct procedures to be used while assisting a person with taking his/her medication. This course explains the differences between a practitioner, which administers medications and the support professional, who assists and how to correctly document the process.
• Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers: American Heart Association techniques for 1 and 2 man adult CPR/Obstructed airway; Infant/child CPR/Obstructed airway. Written and performance testing. Now includes AED instruction. Pre-test available upon request.
• Careers, Assistive Technology, and Education: This course is designed to discuss career and educational resources available to persons with developmental disabilities. This course will also introduce the topic of Assistive Technology and discuss its impact on service delivery.
• Client Rights with Exploring Culture and Diversity: This course takes a look at the history of people with Developmental Disabilities and their struggle for civil rights. It further discusses diversity and how it impacts consumer rights and cultures.
• Community Integration & Empowerment: This course will discuss what a community is and how the support person should go about getting people actively involved in it. Also discussed will be the process of empowering people to actively pursue the lifestyle of their choosing.
• CORE I - Fundamentals of Supporting People with Developmental Disabilities: This 2-day course is designed to provide staff with basic knowledge needed to build a solid foundation providing quality supports to people with developmental disabilities. Successful completion of this course satisfies the DDDS training requirements for the following other courses: Introduction to Developmental Disabilities, Introduction to Essential Lifestyle Planning, Client Rights with Exploring Culture and Diversity, and Dietary Awareness.
• Essential Lifestyle Planning Facilitator Training Series: This course is designed to provide detailed instructions on how to gather, organize and format information for the Essential Lifestyle plan. It also covers documentation and reporting requirements for the essential lifestyle plan. All participants are expected to bring a copy of the user's manual [dated 11/99] to the training class. If you are unsure of its location please contact your agency administration office to find the location.
• Feeding and Swallowing: This inservice covers normal anatomy of the mouth and throat, description of a normal swallow, and discussion of an abnormal swallow. It reviews proper positioning and use of adaptive equipment for meals as well as social issues. Staff will participate in feeding techniques and learn clinical signs of aspiration.
• First Aid: This course teaches how to provide support to persons who are bleeding, have broken limbs, how to recognize heat emergencies, treat insect bites and other medical non-and emergency type situations. A three year certification for a variety of First Aid emergency techniques.
• General Communications Skills & Effective Teaching: The key to successful relationships with others lies in our ability to have good written and oral communication skills. This course will address cultivating good written and oral skills. Additional topic areas that will be addressed include how people learn and effective ways to support them as you assist in the targeted skill development process.
• Health Awareness: This course is designed to discuss the process of monitoring the health of those being supported. Areas to be addressed include vital signs, observing changes in health, and documenting those changes as well as documenting the observation of any general areas of health concern.
• Home Fire Safety: This class addresses the dangers of fire and how to take precautions to prevent these types of emergencies through the use of safe practices. Also discussed are the need to have fire evacuation plans, drills, what to do in an actual fire emergency and regular inspection of fire alarm devices. The Home Fire Safety class is taught by an instructor certified through the Delaware Fire School.
• Infant & Child Heartsaver CPR: American Heart Association techniques for infant/child CPR/Obstructed airway. This course is for anyone providing care to infants and/or children through age 8.
• Infection Control: This course will discuss the proper techniques to decrease the spread of disease and infection. This class will address the proper handling techniques for blood soaked objects, cleaning soiled items, the proper use of bleach and other cleaning products, the best practices for using gloves, defrosting food and cleaning cooking areas.
• Introduction to Developmental Disabilities: This course will define developmental disabilities, mental retardation and will discuss attributes, specific diagnoses and support concerns for the various disorders.
• Introduction to Essential Lifestyle Planning: This course offers an introduction to person centered planning and an introduction to the format of essential lifestyle planning.
• Introduction to Supervision: This course is designed to examine the dynamics of supervising others and the principles of leadership. Special attention will be given to the transition from front-line work to supervision.
• Dietary Awareness: This class will define what a balanced diet is and how to search for healthy and nutritious foods. The class will assist the student in knowing where to find tools for preparing meals and how to determine healthy substitutes to the authorized menu plan. The other topics to be addressed include how to plan a healthy menu and how to read and understand ingredient labels.
• MANDT: This class is designed to build positive relationships and build conflict resolution skills. Technical skills taught in day 2 are nationally recognized as the safest physical techniques available.
• MANDT Recertification: For participants who have successfully completed MANDT and are returning for the required annual update.
• Physical Management: Presents basic information covering developmental neurology and developmental disability. Teaches proper positioning, handling, lifting and transferring techniques which prevent injuries to residents. Demonstrates the use of good body mechanics by staff to help prevent staff injuries.
• Statewide Inservice: Monthly inservice offered to all DDDS employees. Topics will vary.
• Teaching, Coaching and Motivating: This course will examine some of the key skill areas that challenge supervisors to inspire those under their charge. Special attention will be given to the art of encouraging others to excel while fostering their growth and independence.
• Team Building: This course is designed to examine the art of building teams and the creation of environments which, enable their development and empower their growth.
• Time Management: This course will explore the fundamentals of the effective management of time. The following key areas will be discussed, setting realistic expectations, establishing organization for self and others, prioritizing tasks and the art of delegation.