The Summit Independent Living Center is an approximately seven month residential training program serving learning challenged young adults located in the Honesdale, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of the Summit Camp. The mission of The Summit Independent Living Center is to actively teach and develop a range of independent living skills by providing young adults with quality facilities, programming, support and opportunity.
In order to accomplish these goals, The Summit Independent Living Center has incorporated the following structure and programming into its experience:
1. Small group emphasis with a high student/coach ratio. The Summit Independent Living Center places four students in each house with a coach assigned per house group. Coaches living in the houses with their students and are well-informed as to the strengths, weaknesses and developmental goals for each student under their care.
2. Student independence from home environment. The Summit Independent Living Center students are expected to care for all personal belongings, complete assigned apartment cleaning tasks and maintain personal hygiene with only enough staff support to ensure success. Students are also encouraged to advocate for themselves in order to effectively communicate their needs.
3. Formalized instruction scheduled daily. This instruction involves presenting basic concrete skills in various domains to each individual student group. Instruction is focused on the necessary social, vocational, and behavioral skills needed for an independent living experience. Topics are presented through various means, such as role playing, videography, drama, arts & crafts and sporting activities. Real work experiences in the community are integral part of the experience.
4. Integration of social skills instruction into daily life. The social skills curriculum is presented to the entire staff with weekly goals discussed at staff meetings so that reinforcement of content can take place throughout the students’ day. Behavioral charts for tracking social performance are posted in each house so that students can receive visual feedback relating to their social skill development.
5. Daily living skill support and feedback in a real-time, real-life manner. Students in the program will work with their coaches every day to see areas of deficit and strength, and work through problems as they occur – a true living lab setting.
6. Non-competitive individualized instruction. All life skills and social activities are broken down into basic isolated skill groupings so that a greater degree of success and mastery can be achieved by the students. Performance anxiety is reduced through the process of instruction at the individual students’ skill level.
7. Specific Life Skill Instruction. The Summit Center offers instruction in the following life skills: food preparation, organization of personal time and space, care of clothing, social planning, phone skills, basic home maintenance, emergency first aid, problem solving/ self-advocacy, money management and shopping. Functional academic skill reinforcement is integrated into the life skills curriculum in order to reinforce current academic skill levels.
The principle philosophy of The Summit Center is to provide students with a structured, supportive environment in which they can experience social, emotional and life skill development growth needed to transition to their least restrictive adult lifestyle setting. With a maximum 5:1 student/coach ratio, The Summit Independent Living Center staff is able to provide an individualized program for each participant.