I hope that you are all enjoying this course so far. We are moving into week five. After this next week the following three weeks are all focused on your presentations and the group work.

Unit 5 Introduction and What You Will Learn

Week five, we start engaging with the lived experience of persons with disabilities. Rothman (2018) provides a number of impactful personal accounts of people with disabilities sharing about the start of their disability, how it progresses, and some of the consequences. During this unit you will learn:

• Identify different time periods in which disability can begin
• Identify variations in the course of the progression of disability
• Identify outcomes associated with disability
• Identify supports that might be available at all stages of onset, course, and outcome

Unit Assignments

Read/Watch

• Read Rothman’s (2018) chapter eight, “Understanding the Lived Experience: Onset, Course, and Outcome.”
• Read the articles Smith (2020) Illness and Disability: Living Well with a Disability and McGill Smith (n.d.) You Are Not Alone.
• Watch the TED talk by Epler (2018) 3 Ways to Be a Better Ally in the Workplace

A–01: Asynchronous Participation and Engagement

Students are to make at least three replies across any of the five open forums this week. Remember, the expectation is to read all of the posts. Your responses can include another student’s reply if you contribute something substantial to the discussion. Be sure to post on two separate days to show engagement. The following are the five forums this week:

• The forum, Chapter 8 Reading Discussion Topics, provides four different potential discussion questions that come from the textbook
• There are two articles and a TED talk that are additional materials for this week; the forum Reflecting on Articles about Supports gives a space for students to reflect on these sources.
• There are three separate forums to provide a space to talk about supports at Onset of a Disability, During the Course of a Disability, and in Developing Acceptance Related to Outcome

Unit Resources:

The following are additional resources for week five:

McGill Smith (n.d.) and her article You Are Not Alone: For Parents When They Learn That Their Child Has a Disability

Smith (2020) and her article Illness and Disability: Living Well with a Disability

Epler (2018) and her TED Talk 3 ways to be a better ally in the workplace

To Do List

• Read chapter 8 in the textbook
• Browse articles and TED talk provided
• Make at least 3 responses across any of the five forums