Center for life skills and employment

From left: Adam Warman, Jim Rothrock, Denise Konrad, Jennifer Camblin and Kathy Matthews

The Faison School is committed to addressing transition challenges facing young adults with autism and developmental disabilities through the Center for Life Skills and Employment. In collaboration with transitional education experts at CVCU, the Center is customized for young adults, ages 16 and up. This is a highly innovative approach to education; the learning environments include real world places where young people can become socially and vocationally productive members of society.

• Young adults can benefit through the services provided such as:
  
• Comprehensive skills assessment
  
• Development of behavior support plans
  
• One to one instruction
  
• Group, community and vocational activities
  
• Data-driven decision making
  
• Transition planning in collaboration with school districts
  
• Development and support of in-home programs

These services combine with the resources of The Faison School to achieve the ultimate goal of allowing young adults to function as independently as possible in their communities and to bring invaluable peace of mind to families.

The Center is the 2009 recipient of the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services Commissioner’s Transition Award of Excellence. “We selected The Faison School for Autism as this year’s recipient for its outstanding leadership in providing early-intervention, education, training and research to address the needs of youth with autism,” said Commissioner Jim Rothrock. “With autism increasing at a rate of 10-17 percent per year, we commend The Faison School for delivering an innovative program that not only caters to a segment of the population that has traditionally been unserved or underserved, but also fosters community and business partnerships that enable youth to successfully transition from school to work and adult life.”