(Vocational Training, Community College and University)
Postsecondary education places an increased demand on your social communication and/or executive function skills and is likely the most significant transition you have had to make in your lifetime.
Our focus on social communication will support you in the following key areas:
- Nonverbal communication (facial expressions, body language, tone of voice)
- Verbal communication (conversational skills, including active listening, apologizing, asking for clarification, use of indirect communication, effectively expressing ideas)
- Building and maintaining friendships (dealing with roommates and peer pressure, getting attention in positive ways, conflict resolution, socializing/ working cooperatively in groups)
- Dating (reading non-verbal signals)
- Dealing with school personnel (instructors, administrators)
- Self-Advocacy (asking for reasonable accommodations, negotiating compromises)
- Preparing for internships and other work experience (communication do’s and don’ts in the workplace)
- Self-regulation/maintaining a listening-ready state
Our focus on executive functions will support you in the following key areas:
- Unpacking challenges unique to you, such as attention issues or difficulty estimating how long a task will take
- Understanding and making use of foundational concepts, for example the power of routines and the impact of how we mentally frame events
- Learning skills such as how to chunk tasks or create a “home” for important items
- Practicing how to routinely evaluate what works and does not work
- Gaining a deep understanding that new skills require repeated practice and learning how to move forward when we stumble