A Note From Pat
Hello, fellow travelers, Pilgrims on the Road to Knowledge, Skills and Values that guide our work and lead to great lives for the people we support!
Learning Journey is on my mind right now, as I prepare for a 2-week pilgrimage of learning and growth on the Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal… likely happening as you read this! I, and the whole CW Learning & Development team are also on a learning journey to ensure that our DDS Core Philosophies of Social Role Valorization (aka valued social roles), Self-Determination, Self-Advocacy and Person-Centered Thinking are incorporated into all of our existing and new quarterly training events. Stay tuned for more on that!
People sometimes talk about the value of ‘learning by doing.’ You learn every day as you ‘do’ the work of supporting persons with intellectual disability, autism and ABI/TBI who use the services of DDS and our vendor partners. You learn from them, from their stories and from their hopes and dreams.
In Learning & Development, we try to incorporate as much ‘doing’ as we can in our classes, so practice and repetition can occur. This is essential, since repetition is the ONLY way our brains can hold onto new ideas. We encourage your active participation in all our classes, because it both helps the learning happen and incorporates Malcolm Knowles’ Adult Learning Principles.
We want you to see your work and your participation in our classes as steps on your own road to professional development and personal satisfaction in your work.
Here are some updates for you to look for in this, our Fall 2024 Learning Matters.
New this quarter:
- Dementia and Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- Supporting a Life Beyond Trauma
- Introduction to Social Role Valorization
- Creating and maintaining a Safe Office Environment (aka: Office Safety)
We look forward to seeing you On the Road to Learning!
Pat
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