Programs for Adults
The Cove Center, Inc. +21 — Rhode Island
Vocational Programs — Job Club
The Job Club is an employment and training program for young adults with Asperger's Syndrome. The program is fully funded by the Department of Labor and Training.
Classes focus on social and collateral work skills development. Contextual learning centers simulate work settings and job demands which enable participants to apply and generalize the skills they are learning in the classroom. Participants transition to community-based employment, develop connections to academic or specialized training programs, or learn to build their own customized employment opportunities.
Students may enroll in one of two semesters each year. In the first semester, the program runs from July through February. In the second semester, the program runs from December through June. Each semester includes four months of daily classroom instruction, three months of active job searching and support/counseling services. Residences may be provided at additional cost.
Who Can Benefit From Our Services?
We are looking for young adults, between 18 to 30 years old, with a high school diploma who have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and who have struggled to either obtain or maintain employment. This program offers participants the opportunity to develop the critical "soft" skills necessary for employment. These include: social skills, self-control skills, managing idiosyncratic behavior problems and independent living skills. Each program will be individualized to take advantage of each person's interests, skills, and passions.
Activities and Curricula
Classroom Instruction: By means of role playing, video modeling, desensitization to stressful stimuli, relaxation, positive imagery, and computer assisted interactive video programs.
Contextual Learning: Testing grounds for skills learned in class, including horticulture, food services, computer classes, and others.
Supported Job Search: Assistance in resume writing, finding job leads, and the interview process.
Employment: Continued support both on the job site and in the classroom.
In The Club The Clients Learn
Social Skills: Ways to work with employers and co-workers using negotiation, relationship building, and socially appropriate exchanges.
Self-control Skills: Ways to deal with criticism, anger rejection, and individual problems.
Independent Living Skills: Banking, personal care, appropriate attire, managing medications.
Getting and keeping a job: Filling out applications, interviewing, giving and receiving feedback, punctuality, interactions with peers and supervisors, problem solving, transitioning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks.
Active Job Seeking
Last year, students took group trips to large organizations to learn about a wide range of jobs, including:
- International Yacht Restoration School, Newport, R.I.
- Kent County Hospital, Warwick, R.I.
- Warwick Mall, Warwick, R.I.
- Therapeutic Horse Farm, West Greenwich, R.I.
Also, small group and individual trips were made to corporations that matched students specific interests, including:
- Groden Network Finance Department, Providence, R.I.
- Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, R.I.
- Dunkin Donuts Distribution Center, Bellingham, Mass.
For further inquiry or referral, please contact Danna Spencer, Associate Director of Admissions and Transition Services at 401/274-6310, ext. 1101.
