I am completing my practicum at the Canisius College Young Adult Learning Transitions program (YALT). The YALT program is sponsored by People Incorporated and is a program that is dedicated to help young disabled adults learn the skills to become independent and functional adults. The program is located in the upper level of the Winter Student center.
When I first arrived I spoke to the supervisor Ray Alvarado, who is a very friendly, approachable, and caring individual. After the chat I signed into the workbook (where my hours would be recorded), and began to assist students in the program.
The first student that I helped was a 24 year old male with Down syndrome, who seemed to be extremely friendly and excited to learn. This student was learning in the class Adding and Counting Money. His assignment was to complete a worksheet packet were he was expected to count different money amounts and record each total amount and each coin incorporated with each different problem. The student worked on this worksheet packet for an hour, and then began to practice time telling on another worksheet. The new worksheet displayed different clocks with times displayed; the student was expected to identify the times displayed on the clocks.
When I completed assisting my first student I instantly noticed that this job would incorporate a large amount of patience and understanding. Assisting the students in the program this semester learn material that they will need to understand in order to succeed in life independently will be very rewarding.
At 11AM the student that I had been assisting for an hour changed classes. The next student that I assisted in the program was a 25 year old female who was attending part-time. This student was assigned to write an essay as part of her GED prep class. Students that are a bit more advanced than others in the program are allowed to take practice GED problems to refresh their knowledge of math, science, writing, and history. At 11:30AM I was advised by a staff member to correct the worksheets that the student that I had previously been assisting completed.
At 12PM I accompanied the students as they went to lunch for an hour. I was able to get to know some of the students outside of class and describe what college life is like. This free time was the best part of the day, I was able to socialize with the students and learn about their different personalities. I learned that although these students face struggles daily they are still normal young people and enjoy fun.
After lunch the students were free to complete any work that they may have not completed in their earlier classes, which was a period of the day called Catch-Up. At about 2PM the students began to separate for their afternoon elective courses. These courses were assigned to each students based on the goals that they express in an annual meeting. The elective schedule is shown below:
Today, the 7 students took mobility. For their assignment the students had to follow directions and go to various locations throughout the campus, with the ultimate goal of finding the mailroom to mail a letter and delivering a letter to an office in Churchill Tower. Since the students have different mild disabilities some of the students had a hard time navigating through campus. The students seemed to enjoy the assignment, mostly because they were able to go around campus. When we returned from completing the assignment 4 students worked on a worksheet for Independent Living and Budgeting. In the worksheet the students were expected to comparison shop on different cost of Sabres hockey tickets. The students were asked questions like: What are the five most expensive ticket prices? What is the cheapest ticket price?
At 3:25PM the students signed out on there attendance log, at 3:30PM I escorted the student downstairs to wait for their transportation home. Some students who don’t have transportation are driven in a van provided by People Inc. that members of the staff drive on alternating days. Other students receive personal transport from a guardian. And some take We Care or ParaTansit, which are both buses that especially escort individuals with disabilities or elderly. I waited with the students until 4PM, when I was allowed to leave.
This semester is sure to be interesting; these first 6 hours challenged and rewarded me at the same time. I understand how important this program is to the students that attend, just like any other young adult they are ready to be independent in the community.

Today, at 10AM the students had their weekly advocacy meeting where they discussed amongst each other their likes, dislikes, and possible improvements for the program. The students passed along a “talking stick” to remind the each other that the person holding the stick should be the only person talking. Surprisingly, the meeting was very orderly and stayed on topic for the most part, without assistance from staff.
A little into the meeting the supervisor called myself along with other members of staff to discuss an incident that occurred with one of the students in the program. The student was one of the newer students who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (a developmental disorder, similar to autism, characterized by difficulties with social relations, strange behavior patters, concentration on details of objects, and often a heightened ability to memorize), and seemed to have problem interacting appropriately in social situations, which as the supervisor informed is one of the many symptoms of the disorder. We were told to try to correct the student’s behavior by using ques that would help him to notice his inappropriateness. And in case the student did not listen to the ques given by staff, or myself we were told to inform him that we would notify Ray of any failure to listen.
At 10:50AM we headed to the library to begin the student’s budgeting class. The students were assigned a worksheet which incorporated the students to use computers to comparison shop cell phones and cell phone plan prices. I aided a male student in the program who could not read, nor did he recognize letters. So to assist this student I had to read the questions on the worksheet and the things displayed on the computer screen. As the student heard the correct answer to a question, or something that was interesting to him he would repeat it and talk about what I read, to show that he could comprehend the reading. Although the student could not read or recognize letters, he is able to write with assistance sounding words and spelling words and recognize letters once they are displayed in an orderly fashion.
The day continued as the day did on my first day, and at 1PM the students had returned from lunch and resumed their afternoon classes. At 1PM I assisted a student working on GED math problems. I was very surprised by the student’s ability to complete these very challenging problems. After the student completed the math problems I corrected the questions, and we went over the questions she answered incorrectly.
At 2:30PM the students and I did an arts and crafts project. We made construction paper cutouts to decorate the classroom/ office door. At 3PM students began to sign out and by 3:30PM the students and I headed downstairs to wait for their transportation home. By 4PM all the students had been picked up, and I was notified that I was okay to leave.

Today there were three new students added to the program. Additionally there was a new staff member. The new additions seem to fit right in with the original group. Throughout the day I aided one of the new female student. Since the new students did not have an established schedule they were able to explore the subjects available.

Today was very different than the other days I have worked the supervisor called me into the office at noon and he informed me that he wanted me to help with fundraiser planning for the Advocacy Association of NY. The Advocacy Association is planning a disability history event in October. I conducted some research throughout the day and came up with the idea to collect old cell phone and empty ink cartridges to send into a company that will send a check in return for the items we collected.
Most of my day was spent meeting with representatives of the Advocacy Association. I did not really interact with the students today I worked with them from 10AM to 12PM in the morning classes and I assisted later from 3PM to 4PM.

At the YALT program today it was a celebration. One of the students (one of my favorite students) celebrated his 20th birthday, and a couple students bought him gifts. Besides the student’s birthday I did a couple of new things today. When I entered the office at 10AM I came with coffee and donuts for my supervisor and staff members, and I also came in with my recommendation forms for graduate school, which he previously agreed to complete. The hour progressed with the students weekly Advocacy Meeting, although the students managed to stay on task for the first 30minutes or so, the topic of conversation managed to change to the student’s birthday.
At 11AM, the students went to their assigned locations to start their morning classes. I had the responsibility of taking two new students around the campus, and showed them the fire drill location. The new students had to be given a tour because they will be tested later in the week about locations on campus to ensure the students know their way around campus to prevent them from getting lost. 12PM was lunchtime; during this time I had a chance to really communicate with the staff, which enabled me to form a new level of relationship with the staff.
At 1PM until 2PM, I was allowed to lead a full class. In the class I was assisted by a couple staff members, but I led the discussion! I worked with most of the students in the program so I had to be sure to address each student, as they all seem to communicate and understand at different levels. The class that I led was for social skills, which incorporated me directing the students through a worksheet that was about behaviors and who the affect, as well as behaviors and consequences.
After leading my class I was very excited and proud of myself. At 3PM the students played UNO for free time and as a reward for finishing the worksheet packet and listening to me during my instruction. Today was a very good work day. The day ended at 3:30PM and the students were all on their way home by 3:49 PM, after I went upstairs to talk to my supervisor about my recommendation and at 4PM I was allowed to leave.

Today I was not actually schedule, but since I will be missing a scheduled day during the Columbus Holiday I decided to make up the hours throughout the week. At 2PM staff allowed the students to have some social time. The students decided to play football. The students were allowed this free time because most of the students were away at their internship locations. The students have a range of different internships usually in business offices assisting business staff with copying, mailing, and other office duties. The internships seem to be a very important part of the week for the students because they are able to experience what it is like to have a permanent job.
Since I was not around most of the day there was not much for me to do. However, I was able to help out with some filing, where I was reminded about the importance of ensuring each student’s privacy, the student’s health and personal records were kept in the books that I was allowed to file. I felt very proud to be trusted with this task.

Today I arrived at my site an hour early, which enabled me to view the staff’s preparation that goes into ensuring the students always have some form of work or topic of discussion for each class. The staff seemed to be searching very diligently in workbooks, online, and some even created their own class assignments. Once the students arrived at 10AM I noticed how excited and energized the students appeared to be about seeing old friends and starting the new school day, but I later found out that they were so excited because a few of them were going on an outing. At about 10:30AM the students began their normal routine of having their advocacy meeting. The meeting seemed to go on a little longer than average, but that was most likely due to the amount of students in attendance (all the students were in attendance).
The day progressed as normal. At the end of the day I noticed something very important about the students. Since the students usually have a set routine schedule that is followed very rigidly, the students appear to feel comfortable and well adjusted with the routine of the daily and weekly class schedule. It appeared today that any slight change in the schedule puzzled the students. The students asked many questions and seem very perplexed when the schedule is not followed rigidly.

Today in an effort to make up the remaining hours for the day I will not be present I October, I was encouraged to come in since my last class of the day was cancelled. Thanks to the two classes this week that have been canceled I have been able to get to know other students in the program that only attend on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. The students on the other hand seem to be very delighted to see me almost everyday this week. Earlier in the day the staff had a workshop for the students where they discussed the importance of teamwork. The staff attempts to have workshops for the students at least once a month. The workshops seem to cover a variety of topics, all which are very important and necessary for the students. Some of the previous workshops touched on: appropriate work behavior, the difference between cliques and groups of friends, and the importance of manners. The workshops attempt to cover different elements, all which are relevant for the students to be independent once they graduate the program.
When I arrived the students were at lunch, but in an hour the students returned and the staff had created a jeopardy game which incorporated material covered in the workshop, as well as the material covered in the weekly classes. The jeopardy game proceeded to the end of the day, the students answered questions under the categories: self-advocacy, teamwork, driving skills, budgeting, money skills, and nutrition.

When arrived to the program today once again all the students were in attendance. The students began their regular class schedule at 10AM, since the supervisor is on vacation team leader Gillian Barbrich was who I reported to today. She basically informed me that the staff would be working on the student’s ISP, a form where the student’s monthly progress in the program is detailed. Since the day was very demanding for the staff I attempted to take on more responsibilities and assist more students. In the day’s classes I aided two of the program’s staff members managing the day’s classes. Since the program was a bit short staffed today I felt extremely motivated to take on anything necessary to reduce any stress from the staff.
The students finished their scheduled class at 11AM, and we advised the students to get into their three assigned groups for a game of Wheel of Fortune, which would be their class activity for the careers class. All the students were allowed to play the game which focused on questions that would address information the student’s should have gathered in their previous classes.

Today the program was short staffed, so myself along with 2 work-study students led most of the days classes. I led the careers class in the morning which involved the students completing a worksheet where there was a set of careers listed and the students had to define what each job was, along what explaining skills required for that job.
After lunch I gave three of the new students a tour around the college campus again, although I have previously done this before, they still seemed to have some difficulty finding their way around campus. I took the students to the Koeseller Fitness Center, where I explain the process of renting materials and the different activities that could be done in the gym. I went to the weight room to show the students different materials that people use when working out. After the tour the supervisor discussed what they had see around campus and asked the students questions based on scenarios, where they would basically need to answer where they would go in order to perform a activity.
The day ended normally with the students completing their daily log, signing out, and waiting for their transportation.

Today I had little interactions with the students as I filled out numerous forms, composed emails, and did some office filling for the supervisor. I believe that the office filling that I was told to perform will be a beneficial skill to acquire, especially because I plan on working in a school setting where office organization with be helpful.
During my lunch period I filled out fundraiser information for the Disabilities Awareness Event. By the end of my lunch period I completed all the forms and by time the students arrived I was working on faxing some information to other People Inc. staff. At 2PM I assisted one of the part-time staff in her mobility lesson which continued until the end of the program.

The program day was not much different from any other work day. There was a new lesson that the staff used today with the students in the budgeting course. The students played a game called “Grocery Cart” where they were expected to go throughout the board game and look on the grocery stores listings that came along with the game and purchase things found on the grocery lists. The students were supposed learn the concept of comparison shopping, while learning the different in prices (for example what price is less or more). The students seem to have problems grasping the idea of comparison shopping and a few had problems adding up totals or some did not understand the different between less and more, maximum or minimum.
Today’s budgeting lesson displayed the differences in learning with this population. The students all seemed to be at different levels of understanding. Some found the game extremely challenging, while some found the game easy, the students that are independent and currently hold jobs or live independently are the ones who seemed to comprehend. Completing my practicum at the YALT program will prove beneficial because I will have background experience working with a very unique population. This practicum site has taught me how valuable patience and understanding is when working with populations with disabilities.

When I arrived at the YALT program today the supervisor and I attended a meeting for the Disability History Week event that will be held on the Canisius campus on October 23rd. I was appointed head of the fundraising committee at the last meeting, so at today’s meeting I was reporting about the advancement that was made on the fundraiser. I have never leaded a fundraiser so I found out how challenging it is to raise money to support a major event. Learning new fundraising techniques will be very helpful with a career in school counseling because I may be asked to help to facilitate fundraisers in a given school. Having some background fundraising will prove to be very beneficial.
Most of my day I attended the meeting with my supervisor, later I did some advertisement for the event by sending out mass emails and I also advertised for the fundraiser on campus by sending out mass emails. After lunch my supervisor asked me to write some correspondence letters with some of the staff within the People Inc agency. By the end of the day I felt very accomplished with my work with assisting the program in the planning and fundraiser for the event.

Today was normal day; we did the regularly scheduled classes. The program had a smaller amount of students than normal; three students went to their internships and did not arrive back to the campus until the end of the program day.
I was able to fill in for one of the staff members who accompanied the internship students to their sites. I created a worksheet for the careers class which involved the students searching for three jobs that they may be qualified to work in the job finder. In the afternoon classes I accompanied the team leader and five students as they went on an outing for mobility to the Health Science Center. The students had to lead the way to Health Science and also had to lead the group and inform us when the appropriate time came to cross the street.

Today I was preparing for my GRE exam so my supervisor allowed me to study most of the day. However I did lead the careers class again, we completed a worksheet where the student were given a list of specific jobs and needed to identify the skills needed to work the position.
After the lunch hour the supervisor asked me to create a flyer for the Disability Awareness Event that is scheduled for October 23rd. I wrote an email to a People Inc representative who would send the flyer throughout the agency.

Today I was able to lead three groups of students. During the early morning classes I rotated between two groups of students. I first worked with one student who was working on telling time, I gave him a packet of worksheets to complete with sample clocks and he was to write what time was shown on the clocks displayed. This student completed the worksheets and I corrected them and allowed him to retry any problem he got wrong. The second group completed a worksheet for budgeting and was not allowed to use a calculator which made it very challenging for the students.
The program also had three students from Buffalo State College come and do service learning. These students simply sat with the students in the program and helped them complete their work if they expressed the need for help. The second half of the day there was a new class introduced to the students, where they would practice penmanship and practice writing in cursive. The students expressed the need for this class, so when they were able to practice they seemed to actually enjoy it.

Today the students had there regular classes and their advocacy meeting. The day was not very eventful, although I did lead the morning budgeting class. The budgeting students complete some worksheets were they were given a group of scenarios and they needed to decide if they would have enough money to buy the items mentioned on the given scenario.
The program again had three service learning students volunteering from Buffalo State College. The students in the program seemed to be very excited to get to work with a new group of people. The students had a chance to work with the service learning students in a game of jeopardy. Both groups of students seemed to enjoy themselves and the service learning student were able to see what type of subject matter the students of the program covered in the program daily.

Today the Disabilities Awareness Event was held; the YALT program students attended this day long event. The event discussed the problems and difficulties that individuals with disabilities face daily and provided information for programs in the community and independent living homes. It was a very helpful and necessary event for the students of the program because they were able to hear the personal stories of older individuals with disabilities and learn how they survived living with their disability. One student told me at the end of the event “that was really hard”; she was referring to hearing the stories of individuals that had stories similar to her own.
Today was a very sad day for the staff of the program because it was the last day for one of the staff members who worked for the program for six years. The staff of the program seems to have a friendly relationship almost similar to that of a family. The staff members of the program spend time together outside of work, which probably made it much harder for the staff to say goodbye to their long time coworker. The relationship the staff has with each other and the students has led me to seriously think about working for an agency like People Inc. after graduation because of the long-term relationships that are formed.

The program introduced a new student today he appear as though he will need some time to adjust, but for the most part it appears that he will be a positive addition the current group of students. Other than the new student there was not much different from the normal activities that I have viewed throughout the semester. Half of the students went to their internship, while the other half stayed on campus and complete regular classes.
At the end of the day the student each were advised to make a list of five possible outing. The outing allows students to apply what they have learned in the classroom in the community. Students sometimes are given the opportunity to travel on the Buffalo Railway to get them introduced to various methods of transportation. The outings prove to be very essential in the application of things learned in class; the students are able to display what they have learned and exist in the community independently.

The program was extremely short staffed today. The Team Leader had to accompany students on their internship, while the program supervisor stayed on campus for half the day. After lunch a work-study student, three service learning students, and I led the remaining student on campus in their afternoon elective classes. Since the program has a new student we worked to integrate him into the group and helped him to form some friendships with the older program students who did not leave for internship.
We played a board game “Getting to Know Each Other” which asked questions to each player and the players simply answered questions. The questions in this game were as simple as “What is your favorite color?” and as difficult as “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” the game appeared to successfully integrate the new student into the original group of students who already seemed to have close relationships.

Today most of the program’s students went to their internship at Parent Network where they perform office duties like copying forms, sealing envelopes, and shredding paper. While a majority of the students went to their internship the rest of the students stayed behind on campus.
There was a visiting student who attended the program for the day to get a better understanding of what the program offers. As there was a shortage of staff today it was up to work-study students and my self to ensure the student remained on task. For the entire day the student played “LIFE” a board game where they were able to practice counting and adding money skills, budgeting, and learning to socialize with one another. The visitor student seemed to enjoy himself and especially took a liking to me. At the end of the day when the visitor student left the program he shook my hand twice and thanked me multiple times for spending the day with him and introducing him to new friends. The supervisor of the program, Ray Alvarado seemed to be pleased with the relationship that I was able to form so quickly with this visiting student. Ray seemed so pleased that he actually seemed to consider admitting the student into the program based on the positive feedback that I gave to him and the program Team Leader Gillian Barbarich regarding the visiting student’s abilities.
Today I felt extremely proud that I was able to be a positive figure in the visiting student’s adventure into a new surrounding. He seemed nervous at first, but quickly opened up once I gave him some attention and praise which reinforced him to become social with the rest of group. This student is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome a form of autism, but he was no different from any other individual being introduced to a new environment.

Today I met with a representative from the Advocacy Association of WNY. We discussed the Disabilities Awareness Event and began to plan the event for next year. Most of the day I lead the budgeting class and independent living where we discussed laundry and how to do laundry.

Today was my last day at my site. I learned a lot from the experience that I had at the YALT program. The students taught me the value of friendship and patience. I also gained a new appreciation and thankfulness for all that I have been blessed with. Spending time with students with disabilities has given me an alternative outlook and experience dealing with a different population.
I have gained an appreciation for agencies like People Inc that has a sole focus giving opportunities to the young disabled community. Working with People Inc I have gained a new interest in other agencies and will even attempt to apply to other agencies after graduation.