Emily prepares lunch as Christine sets the table in their West Chester apartment. The two twenty-year olds are students in the Chester County Intermediate Unit’s Transitional Living program. This innovative program helps special education students, aged 18 to 21 years old, get ready for life after high school.
“The Transitional Living program prepares students with special needs to join their communities as working adults,” said Jacalyn Auris, the program’s supervisor. “We place students in a real world setting, so that when they graduate from high school and enter society, they will know what to expect and will be equipped with the skills that most of us take for granted.”
According to Auris, these skills include every day activities such as using public transportation, opening a bank account, going grocery shopping, and maintaining an apartment.
“Since the goal of the Transitional Living program is to prepare students for life after school, their classroom is the community,” said intermediate unit teacher Linda Mulvey. “Instead of reporting to school each day, students meet at ‘their apartment,’ a fully-furnished apartment located in a residential building in the heart of West Chester.”
Students in the program take on the shared responsibility of apartment life, such as household chores, meal preparation, budgeting expenses, greeting visitors and answering the telephone. Students are also introduced to leisure activities such as going to the gym, to the library, the movies and out to eat.
“We really want to provide the students with independent living experiences and as much interaction within the community as possibility,” said Mulvey. “Our goal is for our students to be fully-integrated and contributing members of their communities.”
The Transitional Living program is in its first year of operation and also provides students with job training and work experience. It is open to Chester County students with special needs aged 18 to 21 years old. Students participate in the program for a minimum of two marking periods.
For more information on this program, please contact Dr. Jacalyn Auris at 484-237-5039.
