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Send by emailOnline Course<br>April 7, 2008 to May 17, 2008
Please Note: THIS SESSION HAS BEEN CANCELLED. Watch for new dates.
Invitation
This letter is a special invitation to learn more about a career field that can be especially appropriate to individuals with disabilities who have a good eye, a sense of proportion, and a desire to make things accessible and inclusive for themselves and others. It is the field of design.
Do you have any artistic or design-oriented women or men in your caseload? Whether it is careers in architecture, interior design, landscape design, or in the planning, drafting or design functions performed on the computer, design is a field that touches dramatically on independence, movement, adaptability, and accessibility.
Design fields are often overlooked as career options for people with disabilities. In order to correct this oversight, we are offering Building Careers in Design, an online course for counselors and support professionals who serve people with disabilities.
Building Careers in Design is a six week 30 CRC credit online course that begins April 7, 2008. It is offered through the Interwork Institute of San Diego State University, in cooperation with the Institute for Human Centered Design, Boston, MA. Daniel Hunter, ASLA, is the course instructor and Jacklyn Butcher, CRP, is course facilitator. The course fee is $300 and includes materials. See below "How to Register" You can register online now, via PayPal or an agency voucher.
The course will provide career and rehabilitation counselors with knowledge that they can use with people with disabilities to help them begin training for quality careers in a range of design fields. Design fields such as architecture, landscape design, web design, urban design, and industrial design. are often overlooked as career options for people with disabilities. Initially developed by the Institute for Human Centered Design through a contract with the RSA National Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center, the course is part of 'Building Careers in Design,' a web-based training and technical assistance project. Building Careers in Design includes extensive web resources on design careers for career seekers, counselors, disability services staff, human resource personnel, and families.
Counselors from VR agencies in California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, New York and Michigan have participated in previous courses. The counselors applauded the in-depth content, access to successful designers with disabilities, and easy to use online resources that enabled them to assess interests and develop well-documented Individual Plans for Employment (IPE).
The Building Careers in Design project is part of Access to Design Professions, which is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts Leadership Initiative in Universal Design. Access to Design Professions was developed by the Institute for Human Centered Design as a living memorial to the late Ron Mace FAIA, with the belief that the practice of universal design will be improved by the involvement of designers with disabilities.
If you want more information about the course and the registration process, please email Daniel Hunter (dhunter@HumanCenteredDesign.org).
Thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
Elaine Ostroff, Project Director, Building Careers in Design
Course Faculty
Daniel G. Hunter, the lead developer and course instructor, is Associate Director, Access to Design Professions. He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in landscape architecture with assistance from his state vocational rehabilitation agency. He also holds a BA in French, and he taught elementary school until disability and restrictive design made that impossible. Hunter conducted the initial research with designers with disabilities, is a co-author of Building a World Fit for People: Designers with Disabilities at Work 
and coordinates the International Network of Designers with Disabilities. He became interested in design when he noticed that the built environment interfered with his parenting two active daughters. He lives in Oregon.
Jacklyn Butcher, the course co-instructor, lives in Santa Barbara, California and is a Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor with the California Department of Rehabilitation. She is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, with a Bachelor's degree in Law and Society from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Master's degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from San Diego State University. In addition to her counseling responsibilities, her interest in creative ideas for change has resulted in membership on Department task force committees and workgroups over the years. One committee project closely related to the Building Careers in Design course is the development of the current Individualized Plan for Employment adopted by the Department.
How to Register for Building Careers in Design
The course tuition is $300 including materials. VR counselors may earn 30-36 CRC credits for successful completion of the course. Registration is a 2-part process that includes 1) a review of the computer skills/requirements for the online course, 2) completion of the registration form with the payment process. Please register in advance by March 17, 2008 so that course materials may be mailed to you in advance. After March 17, please write to Elaine Ostroff to see if a late registration is possible . Send any inquiries to Elaine Ostroff (elaine@ostroff.org).
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Review the Technology Skills and Computer Requirements - The first step is for you to review the Technology Skills and Computer Requirements for the online course. As an online student we want you to feel confident about your ability to take the online course. When you complete this review you will be directed back to this page where you can continue your registration.
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Registration Form - The second step is to complete the Registration Form. First you select the payment method - Purchase Order or PayPal. If your agency is paying for the course, it may require you to use a purchase order. Once you get to the form for the purchase order method, you will be instructed to enter the PO number, and then fax or mail a hard copy of the purchase order to us. If you want to use a credit card, choose the PayPal option. If you do not have an existing PayPal account you can sign up for one. Regardless of which payment option you select you will be asked for some information about your background along with your mailing details. The mailing details are very important so that the book we ship to you will arrive at the right place. We'll be shipping you the Workplace Workbook 2.0, the book that you paid for in your registration.
Note to VR counselors in California: This course is considered
