1st Year Student Achievements and Projected Program Outcomes

• Building effective pragmatic/functional communication modalities in a variety of environments; establishment of appropriate peer relationships in the context of the classroom, workplace, and social environments.

• Development and application of effective and healthy coping strategies in situations of interpersonal conflict.

• Improve work readiness skills by increasing knowledge and understanding of how disabilities or functional limitations present potential barriers to employment/job retention.

• Create original employment documents that are of suitable professional quality such as chronological, functional, and combination resumes, employer-specific targeted cover and thank you letters.

• Monitor/improve the content and delivery style of interview performance in standard, behavior-based, and group interviews in a variety of controlled and authentic settings.

• Build employability self-esteem, work ethics, and workplace behavioral consistency through individual, group, and field instruction, activities, • and practices that promote appropriate adult job-related actions/choices as well as target/address potential problem areas that lead to job failure.

• Improved self awareness/ better understanding of social boundaries.

• Building positive peer, staff, family and other adult relationships.

• Gaining experience regarding how to access and use community resources.

• Ability to effectively communicate issues/concerns with staff in order to resolve personal problems successfully.

• Learning how to "give back" to the larger community through service learning and personal leadership.

• Initial placement into competitive employment, job retention, and start of financial planning.

• Completion of on/off campus college courses or occupational training and identify/utilize accommodations appropriately.

• Documented competency and consistency of performance in LDI courses.

The program is based on a calendar year model. Ongoing services and activities during the summer months include:

• 6 week summer session of LDI coursework for students enrolled in mid-year.

• Enrollment in one or both college summer sessions.

• Support tutorials based on student accommodation needs and desire to use service.

• Job development and placement/replacement activities for unemployed students.

• Financial planning and money management strategies for employed students.

• Weekly student advisement meetings and revising the Plan of Action for Year 2.

• All residential services including cooking classes, grocery shopping, apartment inspections and mentoring.

• Planned calendar of optional social recreational activities.