LIVING

General Description:

Teens and young adults will participate in this social skills program by engaging in group activities which include cooking, gardening, and daily living skills that enhance problem solving, coping, and development capacities.

 

Goals/Objectives:

Organization and Planning – Emphasizing not only what participants plan to do but who they want to participate with and how they and their peers might feel about these situations when the time comes.

 

Enhancement of  “episodic memory“-  Participants will learn to better describe personal and shared aspects of what they are doing in the moment, either verbally or through assistive technology.

 

Problem solving – Participants will practice referencing others’ actions, gestures, facial expressions, and figuring out how to attune their own behavior accordingly.

 

Expected Outcome:

Participants will be more aware of time and the sequence of activities, as demonstrated by increased flexibility and more age-appropriate ability to make transitions.

 

Participants will improve social and emotional referencing of their peers, as demonstrated by changing their own behavior in response to peer [verbal and nonverbal] social information.

 

Participants will improve episodic memory as demonstrated by their recollection of sensory and shared emotional aspects of previous experiences, and based on their memories of prior experiences – their positive anticipation of upcoming events.