CareQuadrant

This course aims to help learners gain a broad understanding of advocacy, its meaning and implications for society, professionals and clients, along with steps that can be taken to support advocacy and client communication and reduce communication and ethical conflicts. This is not a legal advocacy course. This course is also appropriate for parents and caregivers of children on the autism spectrum.

Learning Objectives

• Students will gain an understanding of advocacy, including reasons, approaches, audiences and proponents of advocacy
• Students will reflect on advocacy’s meaning in their work, for their clients and within their own ethical frameworks
• Students will review steps in building an advocacy plan
• Students will read and analyze a case study on a call for advocacy
• Students will learn best practices for communicating with clients in writing and direct discussion throughout the advocacy process

Learning Outcomes

• Define advocacy and give examples of different types of advocacy and advocates
• Articulate the role of advocacy in society, in your profession and for your clients
• Identify reasons that an individual or organization would advocate
• Give examples of ways professionals can advocate and support advocacy
• Explain how advocacy can pose ethical conflicts, both personally and with the client
• Describe some ways to help define a problem
• Outline some general steps for an advocacy plan for your own clients
• Provide examples of ways to support client communication in the advocacy process