For many young adults with autism, independence is built through everyday experiences: ordering a meal, paying a bill, navigating a new place, or communicating what you need.
At SAAAC, our Living’N’Learning Adult Day Program creates opportunities for students to practice these skills in meaningful and supportive ways — both inside and outside the classroom.
Recently, our students visited JC’s Banquet Hall and Convention Centre in Scarborough for a mock restaurant experience that transformed a familiar community space into a real-world classroom.
Students practiced the entire experience of going to a restaurant: preparing for the outing, travelling safely to the location, ordering from a menu, communicating with staff, paying for their meal, and navigating the social expectations of a public space. Students were supported to communicate in ways that worked best for them, including speech, AAC, and adaptive menus.
These experiences are an important part of Living’N’Learning. Skills introduced through the program — from communication and executive functioning to community safety and self-care — become more meaningful when students have opportunities to use them in everyday life.
It is a wonderful example of what can happen when local businesses become partners in inclusion: communities become classrooms, skills become experiences, and young adults are given more opportunities to build confidence and independence.
Interested in Living’N’Learning? Learn more about how our Adult Day Program supports young adults with autism in building skills for everyday life.
A special thank you to Jude and the team at JC’s Banquet & Convention Centre for welcoming our Living’N’Learning students and helping create such a meaningful real-world learning experience. Your support gave participants the opportunity to practice important life skills in a warm, inclusive community setting.