A Louisiana native, Jennifer Davis has only spent the past three years in Conway, taking occupational therapy classes at the University of Central Arkansas, and she is still adjusting to the transition to central Arkansas.
Davis said she thinks transition can be a difficult thing, especially for people with developmental disabilities, so through UCA and Independent Living Services, she has been teaching a four-week program for local high school students with special needs.
The program, which is a summer independent study for Davis, is called The Next STEP, which stands for Successful Transition for Exploration and Participation. Davis said she was pleasantly surprised as the program began as a classroom assignment and quickly grew into much more.
"It started as a class project in which we had to do an OT-based program that would benefit the community and I really saw a need for something to help high school students take that next step into adult life," Davis said. "And our main goals are to explore different options and find opportunities for them in the community, including leisure, work and general community living."
There are six students from across Faulkner County in the program and the group spent Thursday morning working on their financial and employment skills with a garage sale held at Independent Living Services.
"Each student was asked to go home with their families and choose things they don't use or want anymore and then they planned it all, organized it, advertised for it and priced and sorted each of the items," Davis said. "We just kind of facilitate the garage sale process, but a lot of it is them actually doing the work. They are doing it and so often they have people doing for them."
Every student was assigned his or her own job during the garage sale and Davis said this was done for both the instructors from UCA and the high school students to discover what tasks they perform the best.
"While it is a group activity, we really look at each kid's unique interests and we try to build off of those," Davis said. "And in doing that, this program will just broaden their options for what they want to do after high school."
Julissa Wade, a 17-year-old student at Conway High School West, said she knows exactly what she wants to do after graduation.
Wade's job was to take the money from the garage sale customers and deal with the financial end of things. She said she liked working with money and wants to continue to do so after high school, specifically at a pet supply store because of her love for animals.
Wade said her future career was not the only thing she has been able to figure out through the help of Davis and other occupational therapy students within the program.
"I've learned what kind of jobs I want and what kind of things I like to do and what kind of place I want to live in," Davis said. "I want to live in an apartment with my friends and I also like to play tennis, basketball and soccer for leisure."
Nathan Eaton, who will also graduate from Conway High School in a few years, was assigned the task of greeting the shoppers Thursday morning. Davis said through the program Eaton has discovered a love for playing football and decided he wants to help his father with his construction business after school.
The students attend the program from 8 a.m. to noon Mondays through Thursdays and Davis said it is definitely something she would like to continue and grow to include more students.
"These things are important for these kids to talk about because it helps them understand what transition is and what it is they are actually going through," Davis said. "And they are also figuring out what the community is and then actually going out and finding what is in their unique communities that they could take advantage of."
(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
