Specialized Instruction
Who
We Serve
Specialized Instruction can be tailored for any individual who speaks English or Spanish and has learning or performance problems in school, at work, or in other life contexts:
Ø College students with “hidden disabilities” (i.e., learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, emotional and behavioral difficulties) that have affected their ability to complete their academic courses and programs, learn and retain concepts, pass quizzes and tests, manage learning/self-study time, and develop effective strategies for studying, memorizing important information, writing, and preparing for tests.
Ø Graduate students with hidden disabilities in need of assistance with the more abstract tasks of conducting research, understanding, organizing, and integrating statistical data and bibliographical information, writing the research document, and presenting findings orally and in writing.
Ø Professionals with disabilities who need help learning how to optimize their work performance by improving their organization and use of time, resources, and information, oral presentation skills, reading comprehension of technical information, and writing skills.
Ø Employees with hidden disabilities who need to improve skills to keep or upgrade their jobs (e.g., workplace literacy skills, pass company tests for promotions, pass tests for skill certification/licensure, and complete professional development training).
Ø People who learn more slowly than their peers do who want to attain realistic learning and work goals, but need extra time and more concentrated instruction and practice to master skills and applications.
Ø Adolescents and adults who need to improve their compensatory, coping, and accommodation strategies so they can succeed in their high school programs or prepare for and complete a General Education Development (GED) high school equivalency diploma.
Ø Adults and adolescents with limited English proficiency whose English skills are sufficient for basic social communication but deficient in the workplace. Refugees and immigrants who are slower learners, have hidden disabilities, or who have failed to succeed in ESL (English as a Second Language) instruction may need specialized instruction to develop their functional spoken and written English skills to succeed in their work and to conduct day-to-day transactions with public and private agencies.
Ø Adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities who have not yet reached their highest potential in reading, writing, math, and communication skills. Instructional emphases can be on job-specific literacy or general purpose and life skills literacy and communication skills.
What
We Do In Specialized Instruction
The content of Specialized Instruction is tailored to meet individual needs so we can help people with hidden disabilities and functional limitations achieve specific literacy, academic, workplace, and professional goals. Goal-specific content areas include:
Ø Standardized academic examinations including the ACT, SAT, TOEFL, and GRE. Special education instruction in targeted content and applications, compensatory and test-taking strategies, and effective use of approved test accommodations.
Ø Specialized GED Instruction for individuals with disabilities who have tried, but failed to prepare for and pass one or more of their official GED subtests.
Ø Support for post-secondary and secondary learners with disabilities who are at-risk of failing the academic or vocational program because of ineffective study, time management and organizational skills, content and knowledge gaps, academic skill deficits, underdeveloped compensatory and coping strategies, and impulse control and behavioral problems.
Ø Workplace literacy, basic academic skills, ‘survival’ spoken and written communication skills, and basic problem-solving strategies for people who are slower learners, who have mild developmental disabilities, and who have limited English proficiency skills.
Ø Vocational site assessment and specialized job coaching and retention for individuals with hidden disabilities who are at risk of losing their jobs or community-based internships/placements because of performance, literacy, or behavioral problems.
Ø Any performance or learning problem that is interfering with success is a reason to contact Mary Costa at 303-573-0839, extension 105 or at mary@lifelongaes.com.
More about Specialized Instruction at Lifelong:
We teach compensatory strategies, accommodations, testing strategies, and targeted content for GED completion. At typical GED sites, staff and volunteers sometimes make inappropriate instructional decisions because they lack expertise in cognitive, learning, and mental health disorders. The causes of poor performance and academic underachievement in people with hidden disabilities are often misjudged and uninformed instruction results in unnecessary delays in completing the GED or redirecting the participant into more appropriate training activities. Young adults and teenagers with learning disabilities, attention problems, depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems who are unsuccessful in traditional GED lab settings benefit from Lifelong's specialized instruction for GED completion. Lifelong specialists analyze psychological evaluation data, assess the client’s strengths and motivation, determine and request appropriate test accommodations, and develop the most expeditious instructional plan for achieving the GED. Recommendations for alternatives to the GED are also made if it does not appear that the client can achieve this goal within a reasonable time frame. Once an individualized plan is created, we provide specialized instruction in the use of compensatory strategies, specific test accommodations, and targeted math, writing, and reading comprehension content necessary to pass the five GED subtests.
We support the workplace literacy and basic
academic skill development of youth and adults with disabilities, limited
English
proficiency.
Adult students with academic skills
below the sixth grade level may have language-based learning
disabilities, cognitive limitations, mental illness, and/or limited
English proficiency. Our
approach for adults, teens, and young adults in this category who are
able to improve their basic skills is to strengthen job-specific
reading, writing, speaking, listening, math, and communication skills so
they can enroll in training programs or be hired for entry-level jobs
that require basic literacy.
Although some of these individuals might be qualified for classroom,
testing, and work accommodations because of their disabilities, they
still need to comprehend the written and visual training and work
materials and need to demonstrate minimally acceptable levels of
literacy to perform their work in the real world.
Why We’re Different
Lifelong specialized instruction provides
quality comprehensive special education services to adolescents and
adults that have failed to achieve their potential in other learning
or training environments.
Specialized instruction succeeds when other services do not
because we understand the underlying cognitive, emotional, and
linguistic variables that cause learning and performance problems.
Instruction to individuals with disabilities of any age
requires specialized expertise and knowledge that ‘regular’
instructors lack. We use
psychological and psycho-educational evaluation data interpreted by
our on-site psychologists to develop realistic and attainable plans
for instruction. Attainable learning goals are defined based on the
individual’s cognitive profile, emotional functioning, behavioral
characteristics, and education, vocational training, and
professional goals.
Our expertise in identifying, evaluating, teaching, and training people with learning, cognitive, behavioral, and/or emotional difficulties allows us to more quickly address issues that prevent success and develop specific strategies that lead to success. Lifelong specialists devise teaching, training, and job coaching/retention strategies that build upon the individual’s learning and cognitive strengths to help the person perform to his/her highest level. Depending on the individual’s cognitive potential and motivation to offset deficits, we can strengthen the person’s problem-solving, critical thinking, self-awareness, and self-advocacy skills during specialized instruction activities.
We use our expertise in special education and
our knowledge of content areas that range from basic literacy to
scholarly and technical disciplines to help individuals with
disabilities develop strategies to use accommodation and compensate
for the effects of their disabilities.
We teach individuals how to request and use classroom,
training, test, and work accommodations and we help them develop
context-specific accommodation plans that identify their
disabilities and potential performance problems and identify
strategies and modifications that will offset the problems.
We teach individuals with disabilities to cope more
effectively and fend for themselves outside the classroom or
training situation by providing them with knowledge about themselves
and practical tools they can use in their lives.