Advancing a Personal Biography
The Day Habilitation Program provides vocational opportunities to adult residents at The Center for Discovery®. Program opportunities focus on reinforcing basic life skills, fostering social experiences and building a vocational foundation. Personal biography is is at the heart of all program development, with an emphasis on individual interest and personal progression in relation to the HealthE6® model of care. Areas of vocational opportunity include the creative arts, agricultural care, and community participation.
Fiber Arts
In this program, participants prepare wool by blending, carding, spinning, and dyeing – unique and essential disciplines within the craft. Individuals also learn to weave and create various products, and participate in knitting, crocheting, and other fiber related activities such as felting. There is also a programmatic focus on the cycle of animal care and the natural world, including care of the sheep and an exploration of the origins of the fiber sourced for use within the program.
Pottery and Ceramics
Participants explore the texture and characteristics of clay, and are introduced to basic tools including a slab roller, wire cutter, sponge, and carving tools. Individuals learn the process of slab building with the use of rollers, three-dimensional design, hand building, and coiling techniques. In addition, individuals learn and utilize introductory wheel-throwing methods, as well as slip-casting and the design and construction of ceramic molds, with a special emphasis placed on the creation of functional wares.
Organic Farming and Community Supported Agriculture
Participants are responsible for a range of livestock care activities, including the daily routines of feeding, watering, cleaning, and checking health. The collection and processing of eggs is also a large component of the daily routine on the farms. Participants engage in various phases of egg production, including sanitizing, weighing, packaging, labeling, and delivering eggs. Vegetables and herbs produced in this program are used in the creation of many products, including various teas and spices, and comprise much of the natural food that supports The Center for Discovery’s Residential Program through its Department of Nourishment Arts®. This program offers many vocational and functional opportunities, especially through methods such as seeding, harvesting, drying, and garden maintenance.
Partnering with Local Businesses
Community engagement, especially within the context of local small businesses, supports the development of numerous and invaluable vocational and functional skills. Participants in this program are presented with daily opportunities in multiple domains and skillsets, including those related to social interactions, organization, site maintenance, food safety, and monetary exchange.
Right to Move™
At The Center for Discovery, we believe that movement is learning. That movement is experience. That movement is life. The Center has an engrained belief that movement is a human right, and that everyone has the Right to Move™, regardless of their ability or circumstance. This philosophy not only resonates throughout The Center’s education programs, but also throughout its adult vocational programs. From facilitating experiential movement for the first-time with power mobility devices like indieGo®, to encouraging opportunities for gross motor exploration through hiking, running and sensorimotor activities. Movement isn’t just about mobility, it’s an unparalleled means for skill building across contexts, helping individuals build confidence, gain strength, improve balance and self-regulate. Everyone has the Right to Move™.