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The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008-implemented in 2009, along with the signing of the International Treaty for the Disabled, 2009 by President Obama have opened new doors for equality for persons with disabilities. The purpose of the this course using the textbook, Unlocking Justice, is to set a standard of care by offering a system for implementing the mandates of these Acts, equalizing public services for persons with disabilities (PWDs). Participants will become skilled in recognizing, advocating for, and assisting persons with disabilities. The skills are based upon scientific studies of neurological functioning of human beings under stress – focusing on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other invisible disabilities. Participants will become skilled at administratively advocating for persons with impairments as they use their legal systems. Ethical obligations, psychological and physiological realities of serving PWDs when under stress are emphasized. Participants are exposed to legal and social changes needed in order to be in compliance with laws regarding civil rights, disability rights, and social responsibilities of living in civilized cultures. The American with Disabilities Act is the sentinel law exposed.

Participants are trained to use ethical guidelines, the coursework included in the ADA Advocacy course, and the Standard of Care. FDS participants do a research project and are groomed to become leaders in the behavioral health professions and legal professions. Judges, attorneys, paralegals, judicial personnel, experienced litigants, physicians, clergy, nurses, social workers, executives of disability groups, expert witnesses, and others interested in the comprehensive study of the ADAAA usually select the Forensic Disability Specialist designation. The ADAAA is taught in the context of litigation, invisible disabilities, and practical application given the realities of the judicial system budgets, traditions, and contemporary problems.

Overcoming The Devastation of Legal Abuse Syndrome by Karin Huffer, M.S., M.F.T. Photo of Karin P. HufferKarin Huffer describes how many victims of white-collar crime, court abuse, and bureaucratic bungling have come to suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of having brushed up against various phases of our legal system. – Alan M. Dershowitz, Professor, Harvard Law School Karin Huffer’s groundbreaking book, Overcoming the Devastation of Legal Abuse Syndrome, provides the means for prevention of and recovery from the public health menace of Legal Abuse Syndrome (LAS). Written in an easy-to-understand style and using vignettes to clarify examples of Legal Abuse Syndrome, this valuable self-help and textbook teaches litigants the steps towards recovery from Legal Abuse Syndrome. LEGAL ABUSE SYNDROME (LAS) is a form of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is a psychic injury, not a mental illness. It is a personal injury that develops in individuals assaulted by ethical violations, legal abuses, betrayals, and fraud. Abuse of power and authority and a profound lack of accountability in our courts have become rampant, compounding an already stressful experience. This stress can and does lead to physical illness. AMA statistics show that around 85% of all physical illness is directly attributable to stress. Legal Abuse Syndrome is a public health menace in this country. It leads to massive medical intervention costs, burdens insurance companies, and adds to Medicare and Social Security costs. Most painfully, it crushes the brilliance and creativity of its sufferers. Legal Abuse Syndrome is detrimental to all of society, and nobody is immune. Whatever the court setting, whether it is regarding divorce, child custody, parental support, probate matters, personal injury, property disputes, legal or medical malpractice, criminal charges or other deeply personal issues, the frauds put forth in our courts add greatly to the trauma. When litigants are unable to get fair resolution to their issues, when the court dysfunction further adds to the litigant’s burden, when no amount of actual case law compels an equitable outcome, litigants suffer often disabling levels of stress. When further attempts to achieve redress fail, litigants display the hallmark signs of Legal Abuse Syndrome (LAS). Medical and psychological treatment for PTSD is compensable under most health insurance. To learn more about PTSD see http://traumacenter.org. Dr. Karin Huffer