Life Skills and Career Guidance for Students with Intellectual Challenges
About Next Step
The NEXT STEP Program at AUB Continuing Education Center (CEC) is a university-based transition program for youth and adults with intellectual challenges. It is the-first-of-its-kind in the region that offers an innovative educational environment that facilitates students' learning and practice of the life skills and vocational know-how necessary for them to seek legal productive employment, participate in community life, and achieve independent living.
The program seeks to serve the individual needs and career paths of each student with an adaptable curriculum, set-up, tools and strategies, as well as the essential mentorship and guidance that nurtures their strengths and interests.
By the end of the program, the team will follow up on the students' implementation of the skills they have learned, evaluate their impact, and accommodate their placement and employment.
We believe that the primary purpose of education should be met for all students of all abilities.
“Everyone is born with the potential for successful career functioning and to be a productive worker. Work is the most important and central adult activity in our society. It is how everyone, including those with disabilities, is judged as being successful after completing the educational program. Thus, the success of students with disabilities, on completion of their education, depends greatly on the ability of educators, supportive parents, community agencies, and employers to prepare these students with the skills, understanding and career opportunities that are needed to become independent, productive, happy and tax-paying adults." Robert Muller (Muller, 1995)
Mission
To prepare students for job placement or further education leading to successful employment.
To provide an education that purposely teaches every student what they need to learn, while they are in a technical school or a vocation to become a productive member of their community.
Vision
Establish an education program, that focuses on individual needs, the strengths of the students, their choices for continued education in specific careers of their choices. This program should accommodate the following criteria:
- A program that will nurture student's interests and strengths.
- A program that will ensure a guided career path in the areas of interest of the individual students.
- A program that has the diversity in the curriculum and the educational setup, as well as the tools and strategies that respond to the individual needs of every student regardless of his or her disability.
- A program that will target the skills, tools, and the means that will allow each student to develop their potentials to the level needed to ensure employment and independent living and nurture responsible respected citizens.
- A program that will accommodate placement and follow up on employment and independent living.
Goals and Objectives
To set up and build a program that provides students with special needs with a functional/career education that responds to their needs and prepares them for career attainment.
To provide students with special needs with a program that will offer them the knowledge & skills to be effective, independent productive individuals in the careers best suited to their likeness and strengths.
- Objective 1: To develop a functional academics curriculum (functional English, Arabic, Math, etc).
- Objective 2: To provide students with a diverse curriculum that focuses on community and life based skills that targets:
- Life & daily living skills
- Personal skills
- Social skills
- Career and vocational awareness.
- Objective 3: To provide students with opportunities to learn, specialize, and train in specific career tracks responding to their preferences. For example: Culinary art and catering services.
- Objective 4: Create a link with the community that fosters awareness through collaboration and enrich the educational experience with immersion in the community through training and job placements.
- Objective 5: Ensure employability and independent living when possible, ongoing training, and follow up for the appointed students.
Registration Requirements
Step 1: Submit the CEC preliminary Application Form.pdf
The applicant will be contacted and asked to submit the following documents:
- A completed application (to be filled out by a parent/guardian/teacher/work colleague)
- An official high school transcript or certificate of completion from an accredited institution
- Copy of identification
- Three recommendation letters from people who have known the applicant for six months or longer. At least one reference writer should be an educator (teacher, principal, guidance counselor, etc.), another, if possible, should be an employer/work supervisor. Other possible reference writers might be a psychotherapist or social workers (The Next Step program recommendation forms should be used)
- A non-refundable 50.000L.L application fee
Step 2: Requirements for a complete admission file are:
- A personal interview will be required for qualified applicants. They will be contacted to arrange for the meeting when the application file is complete.
- We encourage submitting an application as soon as possible. Upon tentative acceptance, students will have to go through the following procedures to get the final admission approval.
Step 3: Requirements for the final admission:
- An educational evaluation conducted within the past year, including grade level equivalents obtained on:
- Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT)
OR
- Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA)
OR
- Woodcock Johnson
OR
- Achievement section or other comparable adult achievement test
- Psychological tests administered within the past year such as:
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
The Next Step admission committee will study all applications and accept students accordingly.
Program Overview
The program is divided into the following categories:
- Functional Math: Number literacy, measurement, computation skills,
- Money management
- Daily living skills
- Self-determination and interpersonal skills
- Employment skills
Requirements
CLCE 100: Daily Living Skills I
CLCE 101: Daily Living Skills II: In this course students will learn about clothes and dressing
CLCE 102: Self Determination & Interpersonal Skills I
CLCE 103: Self Determination & Interpersonal Skills II
CLCE 104: Functional Math I
CLCE 105: Functional Math II
CLCE 106 Computer and Expressive Arts I 48 hrs
CLCE 107 Computer and Expressive Arts II 48 hrs
CLCE 200: Daily Living Skills III
CLCE 201-Daily Living Skills IV
CLCE 202: Self Determination & Interpersonal Skills III
CLCE 203: Self Determination & Interpersonal Skills IV
CLCE 204: Money Management I
CLCE 205: Money Management II
CLCE 206: Employment Skills I
CLCE 207: Employment Skills II
CLCE 300: Daily Living Skills V
CLCE 301-Daily Living Skills VI
CLCE 302: Self Determination & Interpersonal Skills V
CLCE 303: Self Determination & Interpersonal Skills VI
CLCE 304: Money Management III
CLCE 305: Money Management IV
To learn more about the course requirements, click here.
Contact Information
Email: cec@aub.edu.lb or nextstep@aub.edu.lb