Qualifications
Education: Individuals must hold a degree in Special Education, Early Childhood Special Education, Speech and Language Pathology, Applied Behavior Analysis, Psychology, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, or Therapeutic Recreation from a nationally accredited university or college; (IDAPA 16.04.11.420.5a) OR
- Possess a bachelor's or master's degree in an area not listed above and have;
- Completed a competency course jointly approved by the Department of Health and Welfare and the Idaho Association of Developmental Disabilities Agencies that relates to the job requirements of a Developmental Specialist; and
- Passed a competency examination (DS for Adult exam) approved by the Department of Health and Welfare.
Experience: To be qualified as a Developmental Specialist for Children 3-17, a person must have a minimum of two hundred forty (240) hours of professionally supervised experience working with individuals who have developmental disabilities. (IDAPA 16.04.11.420.5)
DS for Children Course
The DS for Children course is an online course. You are required to work with an ITC certified DS for Children Trainer. At the end of the course, the Trainer will submit the "Student Tracking Sheet" and course work to the ITC who will then send you notification that you may schedule a time with an approved proctor to take the exam.
- Students have 6 months to complete the DS course.
- The ITC will send you the VCD's used with the manual and online curriculum.
- Students have 6 months to take and pass the exam. Students have two opportunities to do so.
- Registration Form
Certification
Upon passing the DS for Children 3-17 exam, students will be added to the Provider List and the ITC will request a Provider certificate from the Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) Division of Family and Children Services. The certificate will be sent directly to the Student.