Occupational Skills Training
Noah’s Ark intern Brittany Cheeks developed a pilot program to develop social and life skills with the high functioning youth. Her work focused on students who were able to clearly communicate, required minimal to little assistance in self-care, and capable of caring for themselves. She identified two boys, Johnathon (17) and Dereck (16).
The program was designed to instill life skills now, and to eventually graduate from the Noah’s Ark, obtain jobs, and live independent lives. Each week they focused on a theme such as communication and confidence and a math concept like time or counting money. On Fridays, they took a field trip to different locations in the community. The field trips included the grocery store, mall, and carpenter etc. Both young men eventually acquired a part-time job at a nearby car washing bay where they were able to practice their skills and earn money.
ASA seeks to support further development of this pilot-program.