When a student is placed at a job site, a teacher or paraprofessional instructs the student on each task step. The trainer may physically guide the student through each step, model each step or simply give verbal directions until the student is able to perform the job independently. Students are then rotated to another training site and the process begins again. No monies are involved. The personal management portion of the program focuses on training students to be independent in the community by teaching skills necessary for effective money management, communication, community mobility and public facility use.
Students learn to select and make purchases at grocery stores, restaurants, and department stores.
They learn to make bank deposits and withdrawals and to use the library and post office facilities as well as public telephones and recreation areas. Community mobility skills such as following directions, safety rules, and community signs are also learned. The same procedures for training vocational skills are used to train personal management skills. Each skill is broken into small steps with trainers fading out assistance as students master the skill. After the assessment has has been completed, an individual education program is developed.