Aging can be defined as the accumulation of changes in an organism or object over time. Aging in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of aging grow and expand over time, while others decline. Reaction time, for example, may slow with age, while knowledge of world events and wisdom may expand. Research shows that even late in life potential exists for physical, mental, and social growth and development. Aging is an important part of all human societies reflecting the biological changes that occur, but also reflecting cultural and societal conventions. Human age is usually measured in full years. Caring for someone who is aging is very important, and this course provides descriptions of how to do this effectively.

Alzheimer's Disease can be a complicated and confusing health issue for both the individual diagnosed with it, and for family and support professionals. This course provides a basic guide about what Alzheimer's Disease is, common symptoms, how to support people with Alzheimer's Disease, risk factors, and a brief look at some of the medications that are often given to patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

As the trend moves away from living in an institutional setting to smaller group facilities and independent living, challenges arise for those with developmental disabilities. Many of these individuals have never been taught the basic skills of caring for themselves and managing their own daily lives. Because of this, it is important to support adults with developmental disabilities by providing services that will maximize individual development, community inclusion, independence, and their contribution to the society in which they live.

Dementia can be a complicated and confusing health issue for both the individual diagnosed with it, and for family and support professionals. This course provides a basic guide about what dementia is, common symptoms, how to support people with dementia, and a brief look at some of the medications that are often given to patients with dementia.

It is important that harassment is not a problem in all workplaces. This course has been designed to inform you about what constitutes harassment, the different types of harassment, and the legislation that means harassment is illegal. This course is aimed at employees as well as employers.

This course will give you an introduction into the risks that some materials pose, and instruct you on how to better understand these risks. This will help you to reduce the risks to yourself and others in your workplace.

This course has been designed to give you a basic understanding about the health care decision-making process. It covers information about supporting individuals to make their own decisions, issues of capacity, substitute decision makers, and during emergency situations.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by the US Congress in 1996 and became effective July 1st, 1997. The Act is a combination of regulations designed to reduce inefficiencies, fraud, and misuse of information in the health care industry and to protect the health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs, get divorced, become pregnant, or move. This course focuses on the Privacy and Security Rules of the Act as they are more relevant to the direct support worker, who is the primary audience of this course.

HIV infection in humans is now pandemic. As of January 2006, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized on December 1, 1981. This means that all psychotherapists should understand the main concerns for patients around this virus, and the methods of testing. This course follows the course objectives surrounding HIV/AIDS that all psychotherapists must meet.

This course has been designed to instruct you on the process of incident reporting. Every incident - whether anything happens or it is just a near miss - needs to be reported on. This course will inform you on the basics of this process.

This course has been designed to give new employees an introduction to Bloodborne Pathogens, Infection Control, Universal Precautions, and Handling Vomit, Urine, and Feces. These topics are very important for all workers in the health care industry, and demonstrates the importance of good practice in order to stop the spread of infectious diseases.

Legal and ethical matters are of concern in almost every profession, especially in the field of mental health. Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) will often encounter clients and situations where ethical and legal issues are intertwined with the mental health issues that are at hand. Because of this, it is imperative that the MFT have a good understanding of their legal and ethical responsibilities and rights when working with clients. While many of the legal considerations of the field are governed by national law, in addition each state and licensing board will have their own laws and standards. This course provides a general overview of laws and standards in place in California. If practicing in another state, it will be imperative for you to know and understand those laws and standard which are specific to that state in which you are practicing.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders including back injury and upper extremity disorders are the most prevalent, most expensive, and most preventable workplace injuries in the United States today. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs, alternatively known as musculoskeletal injuries, MSIs) account for $1 of every $3 spent on Workers Compensation in America and affect 1.8 million workers each year which many experts believe represents significant under-reporting of the true incidence of ergonomic injury nationally. Compared to other private industry sectors, the medical, economic, and social costs of work-related musculoskeletal disorders or ergonomic injuries in the healthcare environment are particularly serious. This course will look at and examine Ergonomics, Patient Handling Procedures, and Transfer and Lifting Devices available in the healthcare setting.

Person Centered Planning (PCP) is a course designed to provide a firm understanding of the philosophy and process of thinking and planning in a person centered way. EVERYBODY should do this course. Whether you are a newly employed support person or a seasoned professional or manager, this course will allow you to truly understand what it means to provide support to someone in a "Person Centered" manner.

Philosophy, Values and Advocacy is a "quick course" of study concerning the importance of these core underlying principles with relation to providing support services to people who have disabilities.

Whether you work in the mental health, developmental disability, educational or general medical sectors, this course will be of value to direct support staff and professional staff alike.

Professionalism is not just something for doctors, lawyers and other formally qualified people. Professionalism is something that EVERY person in ANY job should understand. This is especially the case for people working in Human Services. This "quick course" of study is for anyone working in the Human services sector at any level.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Age-Friendly Cities Project has involved 35 cities around the world in analyzing their communities and neighborhoods through the lens of the WHO Active Aging Framework. This framework shifts city planning away from a "needs-based" approach toward a "rights-based" approach that recognizes people should have equal opportunity and treatment as they grow older. "Active aging" is about more than just "healthy aging"; the concept entails enhancing quality of life by optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security as people age. This course will look at the concept of creating age-friendly communities, and healthy aging.

This course is designed to instruct you on how to recognize abuse that may be taking place, and how to report what you see. It covers mandated reporters, types of abuse and neglect, and what you should do if you witness or experience some form of abuse.

This course is designed for those in a clinical role. The content covers rates and trends, key indicators, risk and protective factors including the myths and facts about suicide. Competencies include clinical response and intervention strategies.

What is supervision? Who needs it? How does it happen and what should someone expect when having supervision. These are all questions that are addressed in this course designed for both the supervisor and supervisee. This course is aimed at anyone working with people and who wants to make sure they are working as effectively as they can by understanding how they can maximize the benefits of an effective supervision process.

People, including those with IDs, are living longer than ever before and with increased life expectancy comes increased challenges in addressing age-related issues. In large part, this increase in life span can be directly attributed to a general improvement in overall healthcare throughout society. This course will give an introductory overview of what intellectual and developmental disabilities are, and covers services and support, as well as planning and considerations for supporting aging people with intellectual disabilities.

This course has been designed to guide you in writing goals and measurable objectives. It is often hard for people to distinguish between goals and objectives, and this course will lead you through the differences.