For students with social, emotional, organizational and/or learning differences, hands-on instruction in real world environments is a critical means of developing skills for postsecondary living, learning and working. NESCA is pleased to offer individualized home-, community-, and office-based coaching services delivered by a team of seasoned Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Transition Specialists to support the needs of transition-age youth.

Real-life skills coaching may be a time-limited or ongoing intensive service focused on developing practical independent living skills in real-life environments. Specific, individualized goals are established for continued learning and success in one’s vocation, home or community life. Our OTs help clients build skills to assist with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)—everyday, basic tasks that allow a person to both function and thrive—and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)—more complex tasks that allow a person to live and thrive independently. Our Transition Specialists help build skills to address transitions specifically to employment or postsecondary learning environments.

Examples of ADLs NESCA addresses are:

• Self-care/hygiene
• Dressing
• Development of morning/evening routines

Examples of IADLs NESCA addresses are:

• Executive functioning (organization and planning techniques)
• Travel training/community navigation*
• Grocery shopping
• Managing finances
• Meal planning and preparation
• Fitness and nutrition

Real-life Skills Coaching often also addresses:

• Self-advocacy
• Self-Determination and Goal-Setting
• Communication
• Social skills
• Leisure Skills
• Community participation
• Consumer Skills
• Securing Volunteer or Part-time Work

*OTs are uniquely positioned to serve as travel trainers, helping individuals successfully and safely get from point A to point B. In this role, OTs assess, advise and train individuals to use transportation systems and services to get from home to work, school, stores or other destinations within the community and back home again safely.

College coaching at NESCA is a highly individualized process that meets a student where they are at and provides a practical road map for managing their transition from high school to a two- or four-year college program. NESCA offers an individualized and real-world approach to the processes of identifying and exploring college options. The goals of each student who participates in this one-on-one coaching service are unique—students may participate in short-term coaching lasting as few as 6-8 coaching sessions or an ongoing model of coaching that can extend up to or beyond the first semester of college. Ongoing coaching often ends when the student outgrows the service or has transitioned to receiving effective support through campus and community resources.

Finding the college that will afford a student the best opportunity for success often starts with a thorough evaluation of the student’s career and academic interests, natural aptitudes, personality, preferences, learning style and support needs. NESCA Transition Specialists are then able to support students (and their families) in developing a college planning timeline, building a college list, learning how to explore a college online, understanding differences between high school and college, planning and preparing for college visits, researching support services, maximizing summertime, resume development, managing the application process, and more. When students work with NESCA for college selection or application, we offer a flexible coaching model, providing as little or as much support as desired. Moreover, when questions about a student’s readiness for a two- or four-year college experience are raised, NESCA transition specialists are uniquely qualified to assess readiness and provide appropriate referrals to alternative transition, gap year and age 18-22 programs.

Importantly, NESCA coaches (Occupational Therapists or Transition Specialists) are able to provide coaching services in the community. When exploring college options, coaches can visit colleges with students to help them get the most from their experience, reality test the “fit,” and investigate beyond the official presentation offered by the college. For students who have selected a future college, coaching services can be critical for enabling students to learn to navigate specific college campuses, practice hands-on skill development, and familiarize themselves with resources found on the college campus and in the surrounding community.

Employment coaching is an opportunity for students (or recent graduates) to develop workplace skills and explore possible careers. Through an individualized approach, students are explicitly taught about their own personal strengths, interests and abilities and how they apply to the world of work. NESCA offers coaching opportunities designed to meet students at their stage of career development and help them progress through multiple phases of career planning:

• Career Interest & Aptitude Testing – Clients have the opportunity to learn about the world of work including how the language and expectations are different than school. They will learn about themselves and how their strengths, interests and abilities carve out a path to employment. Students will gain familiarity with skills and behaviors required for work, including social communication, as well as the range of options related to their unique interests and abilities.
• Potential Career Paths – Clients learn about the differences between jobs and careers. They will be able to identify short-term goals leading to future employment. They will identify careers related to their strengths and interests to research further. They may be exposed to real-world job exploration such as job shadows, informational interviews, and/or volunteer work. Students will become more familiar with their own self-determination skills, enhancing their abilities to identify strengths, aptitudes, learning styles, transferable work skills and behaviors as well as work preferences.
• Job Preparation – Students will create a step-by-step action plan for achieving realistic career goals. This may include educational planning for attendance at technical schools, increased job training and/or higher education. Students will be taught explicitly how to remain flexible with respect to potential career choices, develop independent coping skills and to make a well thought-through decision. Students will further reduce dependence on school support by identifying and developing personal networks. Students will learn about and follow through on job seeking tasks with supportive or competitive employment as the ultimate goal.
• Job Maintenance – Clients will have a job and/or internship. They will receive job site-specific coaching to maintain employment. They will improve on their communication skills as they apply to the world of work. They will learn how and with whom to problem-solve on the job. They will be able to describe to future employers what their transferable employment skills are and how they learn best on the job. Clients will increase their independent living skills and self-advocacy skills as they relate to the world of work.

NESCA bring decades of clinical and educational expertise to our parent and caregiver consultation services with the goal of helping them understand and support their child. NESCA provides consultation and coaching to parents and caregivers of children from ages 4 to almost 40.

Our approach in working with parents and caregivers is an open, transparent, and tailored one, helping each parent or caregiver to truly understand their child’s challenges and strengths, and how to ease the challenges while building on the strengths.

What Does Parent/Caregiver Consultation Look Like?

Given our individualized approach, parent and caregiver consultation looks different for every family based on their circumstances, needs, and goals. Below are just a few examples of areas that may be targeted:

For parents and caregivers of younger children, consultation may focus on:

• how to parent children at home
• setting boundaries and building structure
• meeting the child’s needs in the context of their challenges – whether sensory- or behavior-based
• modeling desired behavior or play
• exposing the function of their child’s behavior
• language to use with their children.

For parents and caregivers of older children, consultation may focus on:

• addressing failure to launch
• understanding who their teen or younger adult is and who they are as parents of that child
• mismatched expectations/desires of the child and the parents or caregiver
• how to talk to their child about their diagnosis(es)
• accepting their child/the child’s desires without losing who they are
• how to talk with their child in a way that helps them understand the parent or caregiver perspective
• how to begin to talk with their child about finances
• fostering self-advocacy and self-efficacy; encouraging independence and navigation of life’s challenges and negotiations.

For parents and caregivers of adult children, consultation may focus on:

• understanding that adult children are adults who can make decisions/choices they don’t agree with
• codependency regarding finances
• navigating misalignment between parent and caregiver goals and the adult child’s goals
• understanding how the impact of the adult child’s diagnosis is different from its impact during childhood

Parent and caregiver consultation can be done virtually or in-person in NESCA’s offices, the home setting, or in the community.