At BlazeSports, we’re dedicated to helping athletes and those supporting them – parents, caregivers and professionals – succeed. We provide a range of educational opportunities for everyone involved.
CDSS Level I-IV Criteria, Curriculum, Application and Renewal Process
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Distance Learning
BlazeSports offers distance learning opportunities via webinars, video and audio podcasts for professionals, academicians and students in the fields of Paralympic sports, adapted physical education, therapeutic recreation and related topics. We provide webinars with current hot topics on a host of topics, an extensive video library of educational videos on our own BlazeSports TV Learning Channel, and Video Learning Tips of the Month.
Certified Disability Sport Specialist
As recently as two years ago, the disability sport community lacked a formal process or organization that evaluated the competencies, experience, and training of professionals in the field. This void was glaring, and it had significant consequences across the spectrum of competition, from recreational participation to elite level sport. In the absence of such a system, there was no way to ensure that service providers possessed the knowledge and the ability to deliver safe programming to the standards of best practice.
Recognizing the necessity of such a system, BlazeSports stepped in to remedy this problem. In 2009, we founded the BlazeSports Institute of Applied Science (BIAS), which functions as both a curriculum and an independent process of review, evaluation, and credentialing of volunteers, coaches, and professionals engaged in all levels of disability sport programming. To ensure that BIAS incorporates the latest in theoretical and practical knowledge, the process is overseen by a panel of experts from related fields and disciplines, including therapeutic recreation, sports science, sports medicine, adapted physical education, rehabilitation medicine, and Paralympic sport.
BIAS is designed to benefit people at all different levels of engagement in disability sport. Through their participation in the CDSS program, volunteers, coaches, and professionals can all demonstrate to employers and organizations that they are leaders in disability sport. The credential signifies the ability to provide safe, effective programming and knowledge of the latest research in the field. Further, the certification enhances existing credentials such as CTRS, CPRP, PT, OT, and others by demonstrating specialized knowledge in disability sport.
Through BIAS, professionals can be credentialed as one of four levels of Certified Disability Sport Specialist (CDSS). These levels of accreditation are based on educational background, professional/work experience, continuing education, completion of the BIAS/CDSS Curriculum, and successful completion of exams. The BlazeSports staff works closely with candidates to determine which level of certification is appropriate for their individual situations.
Level I focuses on developing and certifying competencies in areas such as risk management, injury prevention, wheelchair maintenance and repair, person-first language, the ADA, and wheelchair transfers. Upon completion of the CDSS Level I certification, the individual will possess the skills necessary to deliver safe, appropriate, and effective programming to the standards of best practice.
Level II builds on the fundamental skills developed in Level I and cultivates the abilities necessary to offer direct programming at the highest standard possible. Course topics include planning and goal setting, Paralympic sport structure and classification, mental skills training, wheelchair sizing and fitting, and the role of technology in disability sport. With the CDSS Level II certification, the candidate will have the knowledge and the ability to implement disability sport programming that exceeds the basic provision of services.
Level III certification is designed to help hone the skills of those who are looking to become leaders in disability sport on a regional and national level. The Level III curriculum will further educate candidates on current issues in disability sports, event management, sport administration, gender issues, and advanced topics in mental skills training and disability sport technology. After attaining CDSS Level III, professionals will have the set of tools that will empower them to affect change not only in their local program, but also on a national scale as leaders in the disability sport movement.
As he or she pursues CDSS Level IV, the highest level of certification, the candidate will study subjects necessary for leadership on the international level. Level IV topics include current issues in the Paralympic movement, sport for peace and diplomacy, international exchange programs, and disability sport development in Third World countries. Upon completion of the Level IV program, the individual is certified as possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to serve as a global leader in the Paralympic Movement.
