Our Developmental Services Worker -Behavioral (DSW-B) program provides students with instructional information and teaches them to develop skills required to effectively support people living with intellectual/learning and all forms of developmental disabilities with emphasis on the management of maladaptive behaviors that may be presented by clients.

Graduates of this program will be able to recognize personal and societal barriers and biases that exist for people with developmental disabilities. Students will review several scenarios and case studies exploring barriers that exist for people living with developmental disabilities. Instructional and practicum scenarios will be taught to students so that any identified barrier/bias is removed and/or professionally navigated. Behaviorprise graduates will become Advocates for persons living with developmental disabilities and will assist other professional with developing strategies that will facilitate the removal of such barriers/biases.

The DSW-B Graduate will find creative and adaptive ways to assist the person living with a developmental disability to find inclusion in their community, have their rights respected and help them experience a sense of self-worth, value and respect within their communities. Since some individuals living with developmental disabilities may present challenging maladaptive behaviors, the DSW-B graduate will be grounded in the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and will learn how to apply these principles to managing the challenging behaviors. Students will learn a variety of behavior management strategies and how they can participate in program development within a multidisciplinary team. This four (4) semester program also introduces students to developmental disabilities and the stages of human development. In situations where clients require alternative/augmentative communication, Behaviorprise Graduates will be equipped to support such clients.