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Skills and Instruction

 

Independent Living Skills

Independent living is defined as skills or tasks that contribute to the successful independent functioning of an individual in adulthood. We often categorize these skills into the major areas related to our daily lives, such as housing, personal care, transportation, and social and recreational opportunities. Each student’s needs in the area of independent living are unique and should be determined through informal and formal age appropriate transitional assessments.
  • Cooking Skills
  • Kitchen Safety
  • Nutrition
  • Personal Appearance
  • Hygiene
  • Personal Health and Well-being
  • Home Management Tasks
Two students folding laundry

 

Employment Skills

group of Bridges students

 

   
Community-based work experiences, such as internships, apprenticeships, and other on-the-job training experiences, providing increased opportunities for students to develop problem solving skills addressing a variety of situations within a workplace environment.
  • Vocational Skills
  • Vocational Awareness
  • Self Advocacy Skills
  • Interpersonal Skills

Functional Academics

Functional Academics focus on independent living skills and vocational skills, emphasizing communication and social skills in a variety of "real-life" community settings.

 

   
  • Budgeting
  • Making purchases
  • Banking
  • Resumes
  • Reading recipes
  • Reading maps
  • Filling out forms
  • Filling out applications
  
 
 

 

Two students in Bridges Target Lab

Vocational Training

Two students making crafts

 

Community-based work experiences, such as volunteering and on-the-job training experiences, provide increased opportunities for students to learn a specific job, task, or skill at an integrated employment site, and to transfer the knowledge gained to real-time work experiences.

  • Transportation
  • Community Access
  • Post Secondary Education
  • Knowledge of Community Resources
  • Recreation and Leisure Skills