Introduction to Disability and Inclusion for Dietitians

Evergreen Course



The Centre for Advanced Learning (CAL) is excited to bring you the Introduction to Disability and Inclusion for Dietitians Evergreen course. This course has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services to increase the capacity of dietitians to respond to the needs of people with disability.  

Audience: This course is designed to support all dietitians to improve their confidence and skill working with people with disability. 

Course learning outcome: 

  • To increase the capacity of all dietitians to confidently deliver the best possible nutrition care to people with disability.

Access to the course: New registrants will be uploaded to the Learning Management System (LMS) in within 1 week of registering online. Once you have been uploaded to the LMS, you will have ongoing access for 12 months to the course and associated materials. 

CPD hours: This course is worth 20 CPD hours collectively. You will need to manually enter your CPD hours for this course. 

Certificates: Upon completing of the course, you will be able to download your certificate from the Learning Management System. 

 

 

Course overview

This Evergreen course consists of 5 unique modules. To allow more flexibility in your registration options, you can choose to register for the whole course at once, OR you can choose to register for the individual module(s) that are relevant to you. 

Each module is outlined in detail below. 



Module 1: Disability Foundations

This session is individually worth 4 CPD hours.

Learning outcomes:

  • Distinguish between the medical, social and biopsychosocial models of disability
  • Identify and explain relevant legislation and policy to support safe and ethical dietetic practice with people with a disability
  • Apply key concepts using a human rights approach when working with people with a disability
  • Apply a cultural competency lens to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples with disability and their family/kinship circles
  • Apply a cultural competency lens to working with people from culturally diverse backgrounds and their family and carers
  • Explain the concept of intersectionality and impact on people with disability

Module 2: Health and Function

This session is individually worth 4 CPD hours.

Learning outcomes:

  • Interpret the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) to conceptualise disability and describe function relevant to dietetic practice 
  • Apply the ICF model to common dietetic case scenarios across the Nutrition Care Process 
  • Describe the role and scope of dietitians, other people and services who impact the life of a person with a disability
  • Collaboratively develop realistic functionally based nutrition goals




Module 3: Communication

This session is individually worth 4 CPD hours.

Learning outcomes:

  • Recognise communication as a human right
  • Understand how communication disability is experienced in relation to the World Health Organisation's ICF, Disability and Health
  • Be aware of some of the tools and strategies used by people with communication disabilities 
  • Understand how to effectively communicate with a person with an expressive communication disability 
  • Understand how to effectively communicate with a person with a receptive communication disability 
  • Understand the importance of communication access

Module 4: Supporting people with a disability where they live, work and play

This session is individually worth 4 CPD hours.

Learning outcomes:

  • Describe the implications, challenges and opportunities that impact nutrition related to different settings 
  • Apply a safety and ethical lens to collaboratively design and support the implementation of mealtime strategies and recommendations for children and adults 
  • Apply the principles of education and learning theory to recognise best practice design and delivery of education for people with a cognitive or learning disability and their supports
  • Identify and navigate the challenges and opportunities involved in effectively planning meals with people with disability
  • Recognise the presence, need and impacts of restrictive practice on a person with disability





Module 5: Navigating funding

This session is individually worth 4 CPD hours.

Learning outcomes:

  • Describe the different funding streams, eligibility criteria, practitioner responsibilities and implications for providers for people with disability to access dietetic services
  • Recognise the challenges of navigating the health system from the perspective of a person with disability
  • Describe the founding principles and goals of the NDIS including reasonable and necessary criteria with regards to common nutrition supports 
  • Confidently navigate NDIS reporting requirements for children and adults

Course pricing

Support from the grant has enabled us to offer complimentary registration to this course until 30 June 2023

After this time, all new registrations will incur a fee. 

$0

for a limited time only

  Members who register now save $100

Non-Dietitians Australia members save $140

INDIVIDUAL MODULE(S)

     Choose only the module(s) that apply to your practice.   

 

$0

for a limited time only

Members who register now save $425

Non-Dietitians Australia members save $595 

FULL COURSE PACKAGE

Receive a 15% discount for purchasing all modules in this course.

For information about group registration discounts, please contact education@dietitiansaustralia.org.au.

Meet the educators

Michelle Livy 

Michelle has worked as a dietitian for over 20 years in hospital, private practice and community health settings. Over the last 7 years, Michelle has been specialising in disability care and is one the leadership team for the Disability Interest Group. She has been involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of a Disability Service Model at Your Community Health and its continued adaptation for NDIS. Michelle has experience educating disability support staff in regards to good nutrition and safe swallowing. She has also completed training in art therapy techniques and is using this to increase the vibrancy and interactivity of nutrition education and behaviour change support. 

Sue Gebert 

Sue Gebert has worked with people living with disability in a range of employment for 40 years. Clinical dietetics, health promotion, food service, and education of support staff, dietitians and other health professionals have been the focus of her work and enabled development of many skills and strengths to work with people who have a disability and the disability sector. Sue has contributed to Dietitians Australia Disability Interest Group for over 10 years and has been involved in the development of webinars for dietitians working with people with disability.

Kirra Jackson

Kirra works for the Australian Federation of Disability Organsations (AFDO). Kiz has worked at the Public Service Association in NSW, completing a Cert IV in Organising and Industrial Relations in (2019) as well as a BA Communications and International Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney. They are currently studying a Master of Teaching at Deakin University. Kirra's experience in disability advocacy includes a role as Disabilities Officer, National Union of Students (the peak student body representative organisation in Australia), where they organised national actions, connecting students with disabilities Australia-wide. As a person with disability, Kirra is passionate about ensuring that others with disability are heard and supported  - particularly those identified with learning disabilities post-school. This extends to advocating for better access to education for people with disabilities in general and better support across educational institutions.

Tracylee Arestides

Tracylee is the current national manager – policy, projects and sustainability at AFDO. She is an experienced senior manager with strong communication and project management skills in the disability sector. She is also the primary carer for her adult daughter with disability and complex medical needs.

Tracylee has previously worked for the NSW Commissioner for Disability, Accessible Arts, Down Syndrome NSW and for eight years served on the Board of the NSW Council for Intellectual Disability. Following a meeting with the Italian founders of Project Etico in 2015 Tracylee became a Founding Director of Hotel Etico, a ground-breaking employment and training social enterprise for adults with intellectual disability, in Australia. She is a passionate advocate for inclusion with a solid commitment to access and empowerment through information and advocacy.

Catherine Sykes

Catherine is an honorary Senior Research Fellow with the University of Sydney, School of Health Sciences. Catherine worked on the development of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. She continues to have a role in the updating and implementation of the classification as a member of the Functioning and Disability Reference Group in the World Health Organization’s Family of International Classifications Network. Catherine teaches about the ICF and its implementation through presentations, workshops, and online education.

Scope

Scope’s Communication and Inclusion Resource Centre (CIRC) are a national leader in the provision of consultancy and access services to facilitate the inclusion of Australians. Our access services include an Accessible written information service, Disability Education and our internationally recognised Communication Access team who have pioneered the development of the Communication Access Symbol, which has now been awarded to over 250 businesses and services. Our team comprise of Speech Pathologists, Inclusion workers, Behaviour Support Practitioners, Communication Design staff, Disability Educators and Communication Access Assessors. This module for Dietitians Australia was created collaboratively by a team of speech pathologists and colleagues with lived experience of communication disability, to enhance the capabilities of dietitians to provide accessible and inclusive services to all Australians, including those who experience communication disability. 

Corinne Cox

Corinne is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, owner of Evolve Nutrition and Health Solutions and Honorary Fellow at the University of Wollongong. Corinne has extensive specialist knowledge and experience as a food service dietitian with a special interest in nutrition and mealtime management for people living with a disability and nutrition in aged care. Corinne was involved in the development of the ‘Co-Creating Safe and Enjoyable Meals for People with Swallowing Disability’ training program. She has also contributed to a number of landmark strategic dietetic resources for NSW Health. 

Frequently asked questions

Who is this course for? 

This course is designed to support all dietitians to improve their confidence and skill working with people with disability. The course will provide foundational information for dietitians new to working with people with disability. There is also opportunity to further challenge, support and affirm dietitians to practice from a biopsychosocial and functional lens.

How long will I have access to the course? 

Once you have been uploaded onto the Learning Management System (LMS), you will have on-going access for 12 months to the course and associated materials. 

Do I need to complete the course in any order?

The course is designed to build across the modules. Once completed, you may find that you want to return to specific sections that have the greatest impact on your practice. 

How do I access the course?

Once you have registered for the course it takes up to a week to be uploaded to the Learning Management System (LMS). If you have previously enrolled in a CAL course, you can locate this course under the 'My Courses' tab once you have logged into the LMS. If you are a new user, you will receive an automated email from the LMS informing you of your enrolment and password within a week of registering. This automated email will go to the same email address that you registered to the course with. Be sure to check your junk inbox if you have not received it.

Was this course peer-reviewed?

Yes, this course was peer-reviewed in 2022 at multiple stages

  1. The course design was informed by a needs assessment conducted with dietitians, people with disability and their carers
  2. Modules were reviewed by advisory board members and content matter experts

How long will it take me to complete the course? 

As this course is self-paced, the number of hours will vary from participant to participant. However, it is expected that this course in its entirety will take approximately 20 hours to complete, or 4 hours per module. This is inclusive of completing all recommended reading, watching and listening activities. 

You will need to manually upload your CPD hours for this course. 

What are the course requirements?

To receive your Professional Certificate, you will need to view all course materials and then successfully complete the assessment item. Don't worry, you will have unlimited attempts!

How is this course related to the Capacity Building for Dietitians in Disability Program? 

This course is one of the CPD opportunities available through the Capacity Building for Dietitians in Disability Program. This course, and the program, was created in partnership with Dietitians Australia and the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO). 


Contact

The Education Centre team

E: education@dietitiansaustralia.org.au

P: 02 6189 1202

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