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| Developing a Community Independence Training Curriculum for Children in Community Living Programs |
| Friday, May 22, 2009 |
| 6:00 PM–9:00 PM |
| North 131 A |
| Area: CSE/AUT; Domain: Service Delivery |
| CE Instructor: |
| HELENA L. MAGUIRE (Melmark New England), Kimberly L. Mayer (Melmark New England), Tiffaney M. Esposito (Melmark New England) |
| Description: Students with autism spectrum disorders and challenging behaviors present with a wide variety of needs related to community living and independent functioning. An overview of previously published research related to independence training will be presented. In addition, the workshop will focus on the specific development of a behaviorally oriented community-based independence training curriculum developed to address specific need areas for students with special needs. The long term goal of providing this curriculum to students was to provide them with necessary skills to increase opportunities for independent employment, reintroduction to the family home, and/or accessing the community with the least supervision necessary. A method for assessing independence skills in the home and community will be presented. In addition, the scope and sequence of the curriculum will be shared. Additionally, strategies to develop similar programs with respect to service delivery needs will be discussed. Participants will be presented with case models of independence training programs that have been effectively implemented within a community-based environment for children aged 14 to 22 years old. |
| Learning Objectives: At the completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Identify and assess independence skills necessary for community living.
2. Identify necessary steps needed to develop similar independence training programs for their respective community settings.
3. Describe the scope and sequence of skills that promote independence in a community setting.
4. Use case models to identify necessary skills to further develop increased community independence. |
| Activities: Workshop activities include didactic instruction, discussion, and activities on the topics of safety, independence training and community living. Participants will have the opportunity to work in small groups to develop independence training plans as well as to discuss case studies presented during the workshop. |
| Audience: The target audience includes paraprofessionals, professionals, and families working within residential and day programs for students with disabilities aged 14-22 diagnosed with developmental disabilities. |
| Content Area: Practice |
| Instruction Level: Basic |