LDCC Internship
All LDCC students are required to take an internship course during their degree. Ideally, students should complete the course during their first spring semester in the program or the fall semester of their second year. The internship involves completing a 150-hour supervised project in a government, clinical, educational, or other applied setting. Supervision is provided by a previously approved Field Supervisor or qualified faculty member. The internship allows students to participate in ‘applied’ study, as they have the opportunity to engage directly with people in a service provision or support capacity. In addition to the 150 on-site hours, the internship course includes completing an ongoing reflective journal and other prompts and assignments evaluated by the course instructor.
STEP 1.
Student tasks before the internship
Review the ADS Internship Information Brightspace site.
Connect with agencies/organizations for possible internship locations.
Complete the LDCC Internship Interest Survey.
Register for ADST 5P30 for the chosen term.
Potential Internships
Location:
My internship location is an integration day camp program for disabled children. The organization’s mission is to provide a caring and supportive environment for the camper while fostering the social development of campers and their connections with peers.
Purpose:
The goal of the internship will be to perform a comprehensive program evaluation of the general outcomes of the integration program. The evaluation will assess the organization’s current expectations regarding accessibility and how well these goals are being met.
Process:
The program evaluation will include multiple steps, including (a) meeting with the program and camp directors to identify the needs of the organization; (b) facilitating focus groups with staff and parents/caregivers to understand how well they are meeting the expectations of the organization; and (c) producing a final report.
Outcome/ Reflection:
The outcomes of this project will provide helpful information for stakeholders within the organization to increase accessible programming for the children attending the camp.
Relevant courses:
ADST 5P15 Program Evaluation as a Research Methodology
Location:
The organization I am interning with is an Association for Community Living that supports adults with developmental disabilities.
Purpose:
My internship aims to identify current or impending barriers within the organizational policies that limit the lives of disabled people within the community. I hope to identify areas that need to be addressed to improve the lives of disabled people in community settings.
Process:
Once the areas are identified, I will evaluate potential sources of barriers and provide recommendations to the organization’s leaders using an interdisciplinary perspective.
Outcome/ Reflection:
The outcomes of the internship are to increase self-determination, rights, and inclusion within the community living organization to better the lives of disabled people. I hope to learn about policies within community living organizations that impact disabled people within the community.
Relevant courses:
ADST 5P58 Social Policy in Disability Contexts
Location:
My internship location is at a youth partnership organization with disabled youth in high school.
Purpose:
The goal of the internship is to facilitate a training course for new volunteers within the organization
Process:
The volunteers will help engage and develop leadership skills in the youth to be partners/contributors to the program. The process of the internship is to meet with leaders within the organization as well as current youth in the program to propose a plan for the training. I will also do pilot training with current volunteers and youth before facilitating the training program. After integrating feedback from the pilot training, I will facilitate training with groups of 5-10 new volunteers for the organization.
Outcome/ Reflection:
The outcome of my internship will be to train more volunteers to be involved in the program, helping to create more opportunities for disabled youth in the organization.
Relevant courses:
ADST 5P56 Leadership with/in Diverse Communities
Location:
My internship was at a disability rights advocacy organization.
Purpose:
In collaboration with the organization, we developed the internship’s goals to collaborate and develop resources for the organization.
Process:
The internship began by meeting with the director of the organization to develop the organization’s goals. I then proposed a participatory action research project including the organization’s members. We conducted a preliminary survey with people the organization supports and staff within the organization and worked with these participants to analyze the data. I plan to continue to work with the organization’s members for my Major Research Paper/Thesis to interpret the data and create a presentation to disseminate the data amongst the organization and within the community
Outcome/ Reflection:
The outcomes of this project were to use community-engaged research to disseminate research from the disability advocacy organization.
Relevant courses:
ADST 5P57 Approaches to Community-Engaged Research and Scholarship
Location:
My internship project will be to write a grant proposal for The Ontario Trillium Foundations Seed grant for a program evaluation of an Association for Community Living.
Purpose:
I will work directly with the organization’s members to identify their needs and goals for their project to write a grant proposal
Process:
I will begin drafting a proposal based on the grant requirements and ensure the organization’s project goals are coherently explained. I will then submit the proposals and keep a detailed process log throughout.
Outcome/ Reflection:
The outcome of this project is to hopefully provide funding to the organization to continue the successful implementation of its project, which I hope to support through my Major Research Paper/Thesis.
Relevant courses:
ADST 5P44 Integrative, Scholarly and Expressive Writing in Applied Disability Studies
Previous Internships
While on my internship at Brightspark by WorldStrides Inc. Canada, I created an accessible tour manual of Quebec City that included accessibility recommendations for planning and running a tour, an accessible movement tour through the old town of Quebec City, and scripts to share on the tour, which included a disability and accessibility focus. While working on this project, I learned about accessibility tourism, including the challenges, barriers, and possibilities. I also learned valuable information regarding the disability history in Quebec City and the importance of sharing disability stories and history with disabled and non-disabled students. My supervisor allowed me to self-direct a lot of the internship tasks and work both on-site and remotely, while always being supportive and willing to guide or offer advice when requested. My recommendations for future students are to schedule consistent check-ins with their supervisor and professor to stay on track, as well as keep a progress journal.
Anonymous
My internship focused on developing skills for developing, adapting, and revising social policies within Community Living St. Catharine’s, a non-profit social support agency. I developed a final draft of the Operational Manual for the SIL department, revised various organization-wide policies, and developed a final draft of an Operation Manual for Non-Union personnel. My learning objectives were to develop critical thinking skills regarding the development of policies, learn how policy affects non-profit organizations, discover how provincial and federal legislation affects non-profit policies, work collaboratively with different departments, discover how a non-profit runs and operates from day-to-day, and learning how to work within union guidelines to develop policies for union personnel. During my internship, I learned the importance of interpersonal skills and developing clear deadlines. My supervisor was very supportive, and the experience allowed me to learn the importance of developing a critical eye and the staffing and time demands of policy development.
Anonymous, MA LDCC
During my internship at Community Living, Toronto, I engaged in hands-on tasks such as assessing resident needs and executing interventions to address specific health or well-being concerns. I gained valuable, practical experience by actively participating in the development, implementation, and adjustment of individual care plans. My internship provided an effective platform for skill development while offering opportunities to enhance various competencies such as communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. A crucial lesson I learned was the value of fostering effective collaboration within a team, recognizing the value of openly sharing perspectives and allowing space for others to articulate their ideas on various matters. Some valuable pieces of advice for future students on internship included setting clear and achievable goals, prioritizing tasks to maximize productivity, and building professional relationships with colleagues, mentors, and other interns. It is also important to focus on effective communication with team members and allocating moments for relaxation and self-care.
Abena Serwaah Acheampong, MADS LDCC
The site of my internship was at KinderCamp Chabad of Markham. The purpose of my internship was to learn about disability accommodation in an Early Childhood Educational setting. The outcome of my internship was that I learned about helpful strategies for managing challenging behaviours in an ECE setting while also recognizing areas for improvement. From my internship, I learnt how to better operate as someone in a leadership role.
Tamara Giblon, MADS LDCC
I completed my internship at Champlain Daycare. The purpose of my internship was to increase disability knowledge within a daycare setting. I had an overall good outcome. I believe the staff were able to take away from what I presented to them at the end of my internship. I was able to demonstrate the importance of inclusion for all children whether it be current or future children. Something I learnt from my internship was that change is not going to happen if you don’t express your voice. I was able to see how my voice can make a difference and help others especially with topics they may be unfamiliar with such as disability.
Anonymous
I completed my internship at Community Living St.Catharines as a resource developer. The goal of my internship was to create various resources for the residents in the house I worked in and for those within the community. The goal of my internship was to research and create 3 different resources for the organization. By the end of my internship, I learned a lot about the lengthy process researching and developing resources can be, as there are many contributing factors to consider. I also learned a lot about the type of leaner I am through this course layout, I require a more hands on approach when it comes to connecting my learning to class material and keeping track of my studies.
Anonymous
The site of my internship was an Elementary School in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School board. The goal of my internship was to support students with disabilities in the school I work for. The outcome of my internship was further exposure to the educational needs of verbal and non-verbal children with autism. Overall, I learned how to support students with disabilities in the classroom.
Anonymous
I completed my internship at AlphaBee. The goal of my internship was to recognize, distinguish between/among and apply historical, contemporary, and interdisciplinary concepts, approaches and theories in disability studies and especially as these relate to current practices and express myself and provide multiple levels of analysis across a spectrum of modalities and literacies. By the end of my internship, I was able to express myself and provide multiple levels of analysis across a spectrum of modalities and literacies, completed internship reflective journal, analysis and recommendations. In my internship I learnt about disability study concepts, practical ABA implementations, neurodiversity, culture differences and communications amongst diversities.
Anonymous
The goal of my internship was to assist with the Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) Advancement program. By the end of my internship, I had written a summary paper about TAY summer camp, sent a survey about TAY programs at L’Arche, designed training for TAY programs, and planned parent programming for parents. In my internship I learnt about the challenges that Transitional Aged Youth face as they move out of high school. I also learned what L’Arche London can do to better serve this demographic and their parents.
The goal of my internship was to promote the inclusion, equality and full involvement of adults with developmental disabilities in residential settings. By the end of my internship, we successfully cultivated community engagement, a program that has now become an integral part of the residential facility’s offerings. In my internship I learnt to efficiently manage my time to balance my internship tasks with any other commitments I might have. This helped in meeting deadlines and prioritizing tasks effectively.
Organizational Testimonials
Community Living St. Catharines had an excellent experience with LDCC Internship program. Student placement is an opportunity to provide practical application of learned principles. Building connections and providing mentorship for future employment opportunities.
L’Arche London was grateful for the excellent contribution that our LDCC Intern made to our Independence Summer Camp. She designed a comprehensive week-long training program for our Camp Counselors which was thoughtful, interactive, useful and necessary. She also designed curriculum for the campers and planned three different camp offerings. She was a gem!
Melanie Anne Quevillon, Program Coordinator
Internships are valuable experiences that benefitted my organization and the programs I offer. I welcome any motivated, interested intern with a willingness to prepare and learn. I have been impressed with the interns who have worked with me, and I am confident in their abilities and capacities to contribute to inclusive community building.
Maureen Connolly, Professor of PEKN: Director of CAPA
The contributions students bring during their internship allows us to complete work that would sit on the side of our desk. In a not-for-profit space and research, working with students on projects is always enjoyable. We get experience and sometimes work directly together and problem-solve and witness the impact and the professional development of students. Thank you for this opportunity and bridge with the academic communities.
This was a wonderful first experience for us, and we would be happy to continue working with your program and offer other internship opportunities in the future. The intern came in well prepared and well supported by the LDCC program. Thank you for creating such a positive experience for both the intern and the host organization.
Nathalie Brassard, Executive Director
Fantastic collaboration. Highly Valuable program. Win /win for students and charity orgs.
Peter Athanasopoulos, Director, Public Policy & Government Relations
STEP 2.
Confirm internship
Choose your internship site.
Complete the LDCC Student Internship Confirmation.
Upon completion, 2 emails will be automatically generated, each with the specific information; one will deliver to each of the following:
- Field supervisor: the noted individual will receive the supervisor agreement to the email address provided,
- Student: students will receive a copy of their submission, as well as a personal upload form (to submit the additional internship forms – see next step).
Register for ADST 5P30 for the chosen term.
STEP 3.
Prior to commencing your internship – all internship students are required to submit the following:
Students will be provided a link for uploading the following documents (please note for the purposes of these forms the “Field Supervisor” will be referred to as “Employer”):
- Student – The Student Declaration of Understanding
- Student – First on-site day; work through the Safety Orientation Checklist with the employer to ensure proper training.
- Field Supervisor* – The Letter to Placement Employers
- Field Supervisor *- Pre Placement Due Diligence Checklist
*please return forms to students for upload.
Your personalized upload form is sent to the Brock email address provided, the link is found in your emailed copy of LDCC Student Internship Confirmation submission.
STEP 4.
Internship
Complete internship.
STEP 5.
Internship Follow-up
After you have completed your internship, please complete the follow-up survey. Field supervisors will be sent their own evaluation to the email address you provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend completing the internship in the spring semester. The required 150 hrs. is recommended for the spring because it an opportunity to focus on your internship over the 4 months after you have completed your main core courses. Also, the oversight by the faculty/instructor is scheduled for that semester. If you are taking it outside of it during a different semester, then you may have to find a faculty member who is willing to instruct you as unscheduled teaching.
You CAN complete your internship at your work (PAID employment), but the focus of the internship must be different from your regular paid responsibilities which is something of service to the organization.
For example, coordinating a speaker series, developing resources, and evaluating programs.
There are two forms you must complete and two forms you complete with your field supervisor. All four are required documents per Brock Human Resources for students taking experiential courses.
You must complete these forms to the best of your ability, even if you are taking a virtual placement. When appropriate, add specifics or indicate Not Applicable.
The LDCC Internship is based on a service-learning model that balances student learning objectives and service-related goals and needs. Accordingly, in an attempt to balance the potential for some preliminary tasks or meetings that might need to be completed ahead of the semester to prepare students for their internship and also to recognize that there are course-related objectives and activities related to the internship, students can start to accumulate up to 15% (22.5 hr) in the semester before they register for their internship (ADST 5P30 or 5P31). Before accumulating these hours, students must complete the Internship Confirmation Survey, have their field supervisor complete their agreement, and submit their university documents. The Field Supervisor agreement and submission form is generated upon completing the survey (see step 3 above). Students should also document and reflect on the activities they completed for their internship, which will be discussed during the course.
