Developmental Services Worker (Accelerated) Fanshawe College

Overview

Throughout the Developmental Services Worker (Accelerated) Graduate Diploma from Fanshawe College you’ll go from student to career in just 12 months. If you believe that having a positive and direct impact on the lives of people with developmental disabilities is a career worth pursuing. And if you are looking for personal and professional satisfaction on a daily basis, Fanshawe’s Developmental Services Worker (DSW) program will guide you toward your goals.

Key Facts

You’ll become a specialist in working with children and adults with developmental disabilities. Your courses will be dynamic with a focus on:

• disabilities; 

• mental health;

• interpersonal skills;

• counselling;

• health;

• pharmacology;

• teaching;

• and intervention strategies.

As well, you’ll learn how to collaborate and build relationships with family members, and to work with the diverse network of support for people with developmental disabilities. You’ll also participate in a field placement as part of an agency or school, gaining hands on skills and first-hand experience.

When you graduate, you’ll be able to work as a support worker, advocate, and educational assistant, or at a board of education. You’ll also have the opportunity to transfer credits for further education at universities such as Ryerson, Windsor, Calgary and Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.

Career opportunities:

Graduates of Fanshawe's Developmental Services Worker (Accelerated) program may find employment opportunities in working with people with developmental disabilities in a variety of settings such as in their homes, day programs providing employment and/or leisure support, working on a clinical or case coordination teams, or in schools as educational assistants, and camps. New graduates are employed as direct support professionals or educational assistants.

Did you know Fanshawe consistently ranks high in graduation employment rates among large colleges in Ontario? 

Here are some examples of career opportunities for graduates of Fanshawe’s Developmental Services Worker (Fast Track) program:

• Developmental Services Worker

Support people in all stages of life who have a developmental disability. 

• Educational Assistant

Act as support staff in elementary and secondary school classrooms. 

• Direct Support Professional

Help people become integrated and engaged in their community or the least restrictive environment.