Outreach

Outreach services are available for young adults who have successfully completed a residential program or have lived on their own but can still benefit from assistance from our staff in one or more areas.

Skills: Apartment Living

Clients learn how to prepare nutritious meals, cook, clean, market, and share an apartment with others. As the client learns the task and needs less supervision, he/she works more independently.

All activities are structured for the client, so that he/she learns through the repetition of doing the tasks. Forms for menu planning and shopping are utilized. The special cookbook forms the basis for menu planning as well as cooking.

Apartment meetings help teach communications and problem-solving skills.

Skills: Socialization

Appropriate social behavior is an essential part of adult functioning. Social skills are taught in a group as well as via feedback on a continual basis. Included are conversation, building and maintaining relationships, appropriate work behavior, dealing with authority, etc.

Skills: Vocational Guidance

Each young adult is assessed for their readiness for paid employment. A vocational plan is developed with the client which includes the following possible steps:
a) Job Exploration: a vocational assessment and/or volunteer experience helps determine job choices, and enables staff to assess behaviors needing improvement.

b) Job Training: Once a career direction is determined, the young adult can participate in vocational training or an apprenticeship. Staff follow up with training supervisors to monitor the clients progress and determine behaviors which need further refinement.

c) Job Placement: This is the goal for all clients, and is achieved by developing a job search strategy. This would include development of resume, learning interview skills, looking through the newspapers for job listings, calling for interviews, and going on the interview. Identification of the learning disability at the time of application is helpful to the employer in knowing what to expect. Staff can be helpful in developing accommodation strategies, where necessary.

d) Job Maintenance: Once the client is working a vocational assistant may accompany the young persons initially on the job. Sometimes this helps ensure proper learning of the job tasks. Some individuals are able to learn the new job on their own. For all clients, the vocational staff call the employer once a week or once every two weeks, to find out how the client is performing on the job and to intervene where necessary. Once the employer understands the young person’s disability and learns the best way to give him/her instructions, the job is often secure.

Next Page or Download Parents Handbook