Disability education can help increase the health equity in care quality and reduce the health care disparities experienced by adults and children with disabilities. This workshop is intended to provide health professionals in the emergency department with a basic understanding of the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities as well as strategies for interacting with them and their caregivers. Given the fast-paced and stressful environment of the emergency department, we hope this program leads to the following objectives.

Training Format/Duration: Classroom/Half-day/ Full-day or 3-6 hours

Target Populations:

  • Emergency Department Health Professionals
  • Case Managers
  • Medical staff
  • Nurses

Learning Objectives – Following completion of this course, participants will gain strategies to successfully address the following areas:

  1. Communication with persons with disabilities
  2. Communication with parents and caregivers
  3. Proactive and reactive strategies for promoting compliance to medical procedures
  4. Pain assessment and impact of emergency department procedures in caring for persons with developmental disabilities