Students in this course learn the foundations of Executive Function skills. This includes an introduction and overview of a variety of EF skills including: Self-Awareness, Goal setting, Prioritizing tasks, Time Management, Organization and Planning, Categorization, Sequencing, Working Memory, Meta-Cognition and Cognitive Flexibility. This course focuses on these EF strategies with an emphasis on students developing self awareness strategies that leads to goal setting. Students are introduced to the SMART goal acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) as a guide to goal setting. Students engage in different hands-on projects that promote self-awareness. 

Career Exploration I is the first of two workshops designed to provide students a comprehensive look at their strengths, talents, interests and values through the use of a variety of career interest inventories, personality assessments and self-reflection. The students will coalesce the information gathered into a Career Exploration Portfolio. This portfolio will be a living document over the course of both semesters (Fall and Spring) that will help guide the students into vocational areas best suited for them. Students will also be introduced to a variety of entry level jobs through readings and class discussions.

PAES® Lab (Practical Assessment Exploration System) 
The PAES® lab is a research-based, functional skills curriculum designed with an embedded formative assessment of career potential and employability skills. It identifies functional skill levels, potential career interest, aptitude for community based employment and work behavior strengths and barriers to success in the workplace. The classroom is transformed into a simulated work environment where individuals learn work-related problem solving skills and proper work behavior (arriving on time, completing tasks independently and in a timely manner, asking for help, appropriate use of equipment and maintaining a safe work station). The students will gain insight into job skills and real work job responsibilities as well as develop a greater understanding of their learning style and training needs for future employment. 

During the first year of the program, students are oriented to the PAES lab procedures, set-up and materials through the use of applied practice and simulated activities but do not formally begin the assessment phase until they have completed a successful orientation phase.

The SOS curriculum is broken down into direct instruction combined with opportunities to generalize skills through the use of the college’s natural supports. The curriculum guides students to identify self-regulation strategies and how to use them effectively in a variety of social situations. Students learn how and why one initiates conversations, parts of a conversation, active listening, topic identification, and talking and responding on topic. Initial acquisition of specific social skills is fostered through direct teaching, modeling, self-reflection, classroom discussion and role-play. 

Students engaging in small group work focused on active listening and talking and responding on topic. Students engage in role play exercises to initiate conversations with peers. Students use the topic talk game to integrate lessons learned from class. 

Students engage in activities that focus on helping students decide how to use and expand interests during their free time. Activities are built on student interest. 

Stress Management I is the first of two workshops that is designed to introduce students to the concept of stress and how their response to stress affects their lives. Students will gain an understanding of what stress is, how stress affects the body, the biological response to stress (fight, flight or freeze), and common stressors they may face. The students will become aware of their current level of stress and their most common way of dealing with it (avoidance, distraction, or escape). They will gain an understanding of healthy ways of dealing with stress and identify ways they can begin utilizing these healthy coping strategies in their daily lives.

The class will consist of readings, videos, discussion and opportunities to practice healthy coping strategies.

This is an individualized workshop designed to meet the specific students’ course needs, empowering them to reach their academic goals in the BRIDGES program and in their audit/credit classes. This course helps students transition into a college setting by learning the procedures, policies and departments at the college. Academic Resource incorporates lessons on how to navigate the college website, locating audit classes of interest and familiarizing with the various activities and offerings on campus. Professional and personal emailing is also covered in the class so that students can effectively communicate with staff and students. Students are introduced to the differences of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and a Person Centered Plan (PCP). Students have the opportunity to work with faculty in a 1:1 or small group setting. 

Students can choose to attend an audit from the SUNY Orange roster of classes as a fully inclusive auditing participant. Students are able to learn the campus, acclimate to navigating a college class syllabus, utilize Banner and OERs.

Students in this course learn the foundations of Executive Function skills.

This includes an introduction and overview of a variety of EF skills including: Self-Awareness, Goal setting, Prioritizing tasks, Time Management, Organization and Planning, Categorization, Sequencing, Working Memory, Meta-Cognition and Cognitive Flexibility. This course focuses on these EF strategies with an emphasis on students developing self awareness strategies that leads to goal setting. Students are introduced to the SMART goal acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) as a guide to goal setting.

Students engage in different hands-on projects that promote self-awareness.

Career Exploration II will continue to provide students with a comprehensive look at their strengths, talents, interests and values with a targeted emphasis on the Holland Code and 6 Career Clusters (Agricultural, Human, Health, Technology, Communication, and Business Services). Students will continue to gather information about careers that best suit their strength, talents, interests and values and add it to their Career Exploration Portfolio.

Students will have an opportunity to participate in hand-on activities that simulate the 6 Career Clusters and evaluate if any of those Career Clusters are an area of interest for them. Students will continue to be exposed to a variety of entry level jobs through reading and class discussions and determine if those positions might be an appropriate career choice.

PAES® Lab (Practical Assessment Exploration System)
Students begin to explore a variety of different job tasks across 5 industry areas. By design, the PAES lab offers students a highly individualized experience, allowing for staff to plan each students’ PAES experience in a way that meets their individual needs. The PAES® lab is a research-based, functional skills curriculum designed with an embedded formative assessment of career potential and employability skills. It identifies functional skill levels, potential career interest, aptitude for community based employment and work behavior strengths and barriers to success in the workplace.

The classroom is transformed into a simulated work environment where individuals learn work-related problem solving skills and proper work behavior (arriving on time, completing tasks independently and in a timely manner, asking for help, appropriate use of equipment and maintaining a safe work station).

The students will gain insight into job skills and real work job responsibilities as well as develop a greater understanding of their learning style and training needs for future employment. 

Students continue to build skills started in the first semester. Students are introduced to lessons on examining the elements of what makes a good friend and how to sustain friendships. Students are introduced to the SWIFF acronym (School, Work, Interests, Family, Friends), where topics of conversation are generated. Using conversation topics, students discern what topics of conversation are appropriate in different social interactions.

How to interact with a supervisor and co-workers are covered as well as managing anger in the workplace. Conflict resolution revolves around role-playing and discussion based on personal experiences. Planned practice and real life experiences link individual skills together.

Instructors lead small peer groups to reinforce concepts taught in class. Students utilize conversation games, discussion and role play to dive into the topics including: what makes a good friend, how to sustain friendships and how to engage in conflict resolution. Non-violent and conscious communication strategies are honed with continued practice. Students work with conversation categories including school, work, interests, family and friends.

The focus of this course is understanding the meaning of wellness in our lives. This course focuses on different elements of health & wellness including physical, emotional, mental, social and more. Maintaining a healthy diet with particular emphasis on preparing healthy meals are also incorporated into the hands-on element of this workshop. Students also learn how to read food labels and evaluate nutritional value to make better food choices. Students will also be introduced to different physical exercises and practices that promote good health.

Students will build their self-care tools as an exploration towards their own health & wellness. Current health trends will also be explored.

Stress Management II will continue to improve the students' understanding of stress and how it impacts their daily lives. Students will identify healthy and unhealthy ways that they are currently dealing with stress. Students will be introduced to concepts such as mindfulness, meditation and simple yoga as healthy alternatives to dealing with stress and will be given multiple opportunities to practice these techniques in the classroom. Students will begin to develop a Stress Management Portfolio in which they will capture their understanding of stress in their lives, unhealthy ways they used to manage stress and identify healthy coping strategies that they have developed over the course of the year. This portfolio is a living document that will be updated over the course of the following semesters.

This course will assist students in reaching their goals by developing a Person Centered Plan. Various assessments including values, strengths, skills and learning style are used to create a whole picture for the PCP. Students learn how to set short term and long term goals using the SMART goal acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely). This is a highly individualized aspect of the program that is designed to meet the needs of specific students’ course of study. 

Students can choose to attend an audit from the SUNY Orange roster of classes as a fully inclusive auditing participant. Students are able to learn the campus, acclimate to navigating a college class syllabus, utilize Banner and OERs.