ODL 339: Advance Care Planning for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD): Where Do We Go From Here?

Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure the transferability of CE credit for an asynchronous course. Some state boards may place restrictions regarding the modality of training required for ethics credits to be allowed. If this training offers ethics credits, please verify that your state allows them to be earned through an on-demand course format.

1 CREDIT HOUR APPROVED FOR:
Social Workers
ASWB ACE – 1 Clinical CE Credit
NY State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work – 1 Contact Hour
Psychologists
APA – 1 CE Credit
Counselors
NBCC ACEP – 1 Contact Hour
Substance Abuse Counselors
NAADAC – 1 Contact Hour
Nurses
California Board of Registered Nursing – 1 Contact Hour
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners – 1 Contact Hour
Case Managers
CCMC – 1 Contact Hour

Created On:     5/14/25                

Target Audience:

This course is targeted for social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses and case managers.

Counselor Skill Groups: 

6. Case Management

Overview:

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are often forgotten when it comes to conversation, planning, and services in adulthood. COVID-19 provided a wakeup call for professionals, family caregivers, and broader caregiving networks to support individuals with IDD in planning for life for when their health changes and for their final days. This training will provide a framework for understanding the multi-faceted nature of advance care planning, barriers to advance care planning, and reasons for advance care planning to support individuals with IDD. The number of older adults with IDD continues to increase; therefore, it is essential to carve out time to support individuals with IDD and their caregivers to plan for the future. This session will provide practical information to integrate advance care planning in work that is already being done to best meet the needs of adults with IDD throughout the life course.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:

• Define  what advance care planning entails and the dimensions of advance care planning.
• Describe the barriers to and reasons for advance care planning in individuals with IDD.
• Explain strategies to integrate advance care planning into the person-centered planning process.

Presenter:

Christina Marsack-Topolewski, PhD, LMSW

Christina Marsack-Topolewski, PhD, LMSW, is a licensed social worker and an Associate Professor of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. She received her bachelor’s of science in Special Education from Wayne State University, master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan, and her PhD in Social Work with a dual title in Gerontology from Wayne State University. She has 20 years of experience supporting individuals with disabilities and their family caregivers. She has consulted on cases of individuals with disabilities with various co-occurring conditions. Dr. Marsack-Topolewski has worked as a professor, clinical therapist, teacher, consultant, and speaker. She has published over 80 research articles in scholarly journals and encyclopedias regarding individuals with disabilities, family caregiving, and aging.

Dr. Marsack-Topolewski has served as the lead principal investigator on multiple grant-funded programs tailoring services for individuals with disabilities, older adults, and chronic illnesses. She is an appointed board member of the U.S. National Task Group (NTG) on Intellectual Disability and Dementia Practices. Dr. Marsack-Topolewski’s research has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and ABC News Detroit. Over the past five years, she testified before members of the Michigan Legislature to advocate for new laws that protect against the exploitation and abuse of adults with disabilities. The first of these house bills was signed into law in the state of Michigan in December 2023. In 2024, she received the Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Research Award for Research Excellence. In addition, she received the Arc of Oakland County’s Advocacy Hall of Fame Award in 2024.