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.

Organization, planning and Time Management are key Executive Functions that get covered in the Fall semester. Students learn, through direct instructions and classroom activities, how to use a daily, weekly & monthly calendar to track their school and leisure activities. Students learn how to track assignments from their classes. Students learn to increase their productivity and lessen stressful situations.

This course is highly individualized with students trying out various techniques and determining through trial and error precisely what skills will help them maximize their efforts. 

Introduction to Employment I is the first of two workshops designed to provide students with an understanding of the soft skills related to employment. In the first semester an emphasis is placed on the importance of a positive and enthusiastic attitude when it comes to getting hired and maintaining employment. Students are introduced to the concept of a growth mindset and the importance of it in the workplace. Students are taught our brains are malleable and we continue to learn and build skills throughout the lifespan. Students are taught to embrace mistakes and view them as learning opportunities. Students will have the opportunity to explore these concepts through video, readings, in-person interviews, and self reflection.

Students will have the opportunity to begin building their resume; highlighting the strengths they identified in Career Exploration I and II. 

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. 

The PAES lab explores five areas: Computer Technology, Construction/Industrial, Processing/Production, Consumer/Service and Business/Marketing. During the second year of the program, use of the PAES lab job tasks and assessments provides students with yet another opportunity to practice job related skills, refine and reinforce these skills as they participate in the formal assessment phase of the PAES lab this semester. 

Students continue to build skills begun in the first year. Skill lessons address self-advocacy, self-regulation/coping, planning and organization, and particular communication and socialization skills. Planned practice and real life experiences link individual skills together. Safety, assertiveness, and conflict resolution are also covered. Students also begin to review workplace etiquette and common pitfalls that often arise.

Concepts such as how to make small talk with fellow employees, answering questions when you do not know the answer, discussing breaks and lunch hours, responding to correction or criticism, and how to approach a supervisor are introduced. Scenarios involving the issues introduced in lecture are broken down into understandable chunks and role-playing is used so students have ample opportunity to generalize appropriate responses and improve their social and job-related communications. 

Social Skills labs include Peer Mentors, college students from various departments on the college campus, working with students to provide opportunities to practice concepts taught in the Social Engagement class. Students learn through the use of natural supports to generalize concepts taught from class. 

Students in their second year of study begin to explore more specific aspects of independent living such as: personal hygiene, safe kitchen practices and cooking, home safety, home care management, and medication management (if applicable). Basic kitchen skills where topics such as reading a recipe, kitchen safety, understanding cooking terms, measurement, basic food preparation and storage as well as serving and cleaning up are also covered. The focus is extremely individualized during this year in order to hone the skills that are important for each individual students’ goals.

Students continue to better identify the triggers and behaviors that can affect achieving one’s life goals overall. Students engage in a wide variety of stress relieving activities including yoga and breathing techniques, meditation and mindful movement. Students continue working on their stress management portfolio tracking their individual triggers and the accompanying stress relieving activity that works to decrease stress.

Individualized academic supports are designed to assist students in identifying and utilizing effective strategies in order to foster success across all aspects of their BRIDGES classes. Students practice using and generalizing these strategies in the areas of planning, organization, time management and problem-solving when completing school work and classroom projects. Students can also hone various stress management and coping strategies. Students continue updating and refining their Person Centered Plan (PCP).

Students choose from the SUNY Orange roster of classes one of particular interest to them and attend the class as an auditing participant. Students are encouraged to choose classes within their chosen area of vocational focus or personal areas of interest for enrichment.

Students learn how to break complex tasks into simple steps, using task analysis through the lens of categorization and sequencing. Instructors model and demonstrate using a variety of tools and techniques, including the use of graphic organizers, class projects, functional routines, duties at a job or assignments in class.

Students will use areas in their life as motivators when taking a large task and breaking it down into achievable steps.

Introduction to Employment II will continue to provide students with an understanding of the soft skills related to employment. In the second semester an emphasis is placed on the importance of communication when it comes to getting hired and maintaining employment. Students will understand the importance of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills in the workplace. Students will continue to fine tune their resume, obtain letters of recommendations, develop a “Me in 30 seconds” speech and practice interviewing skills throughout the semester.

The semester will conclude with a mock interview. Students will also review their Career Exploration Portfolios and identify potential internship areas they might be interested in exploring during their last year in the program.

PAES® Lab (Practical Assessment Exploration System) 
During the second year, students' continuation of the PAES lab job tasks and assessments provides students with information of which strand they have aptitude. 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 practice reading cues and understanding the nuances of social situations. Topics include non-verbal communication (body language), conversational skills in different social settings, and listening. Students begin to explore identifying how others feel by reading their emotions. Students use the circle of friendship graphic organizers to identify levels of conversation starting with small talk and progressing through the levels to more personal topics of conversation.

Students begin to shape stories to tell, relay information and give directions all to expand their repertoire of conversation. The class ends with a group project they complete collaboratively as a group.

Social Skills labs include Peer Mentors, college students from various departments on the college campus, working with students to provide opportunities to practice concepts taught in SOS class.

Students learn through the use of natural supports to generalize concepts taught from class.

This course is an introduction to basic applied math emphasizing how to use math skills in real life situations such as buying a car, creating a budget, renting an apartment, and paying taxes. Students will focus on the decision making process related to earning and spending money. The students learn about creating a budget and living within their means. The course will also emphasize the cost of living in an apartment, purchasing a car, securing a loan, and utilizing banking services. Practical applications such as utilizing an ATM card, writing checks, opening a bank account, understanding taxes, and deciding to purchase items on credit will also be covered.

Making home purchases, creating a home and grocery budget, calculating monthly renting from a weekly salary, and how to determine if one’s paycheck is accurate are also topics covered in this workshop.

Students continue to update their individual stress management portfolio as their practice unfolds in all areas of their programming. Students increase their tolerance of stress as they learn and utilize strategies that garner results in combating stress.

Individualized academic supports are designed to assist students in identifying and utilizing effective strategies in order to foster success across all aspects of their BRIDGES classes. Students practice using and generalizing these strategies in the areas of planning, organization, time management and problem-solving when completing school work and classroom projects. Students can also hone various stress management and coping strategies. Students continue updating and refining their Person Centered Plan (PCP).

Students choose from the SUNY Orange roster of classes one of particular interest to them and attend the class as an auditing participant. Students are encouraged to choose classes within their chosen area of vocational focus or personal areas of interest for enrichment.

Working memory is the ability to take in multiple pieces of information simultaneously and utilize that information to produce a result. Instructors utilize self awareness techniques, activities using graphic organizers and classroom activities to increase students ability to focus on tasks.

Classes are constructed to use visuals to highlight next steps on activities in a structured manner so that students feel more confident utilizing strategies to help with memory. 

Career Seminar I is the first of two workshops designed to prepare students to enter the world of work. Students will be guided through the steps of seeking employment (job-hunting strategies, completing job applications both online and on paper, hone their job interview skills and preparing for the first few weeks of new employment).

Phone and email etiquette will be taught and practiced throughout the semester. Students will learn the importance of prioritizing tasks on the job and the importance of asking for assistance when needed. The students will also have an opportunity to share their experiences in their internships and have an opportunity to ask questions or problem solve situations that may have arisen. 

The career seminar lab includes students working set hours at an internship site. Internship placements are based on selections guided by Career Exploration assessments, PAES Assessment, student input, staff observations and placement availability. Students are supported by the Career and Internship Advisor and receive classroom instruction to hone their abilities.

They also receive highly individualized support and guidance as they begin to integrate all of the knowledge and skills that they have learned from previous BRIDGES career readiness classes.

Year 3 of the SOS curriculum builds on concepts learned within the first two years. Students will expand and focus their conversations to incorporate other peoples topics of interest in conversation. Students build on asking questions, making comments and adding information to include bridging to an unrelated topic of conversation, reflecting content and emotion.

Students are introduced to the CBT model in order to modulate behavior through examining thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

Students in social engagement lab V utilize concepts taught in class and apply them to conversations with peers. Topics include, other people’s topics of interest, generalizing skills to ask questions, make comments, add information and bridge to a new topic of conversation. Scenario based activities are introduced in regards to reflecting on thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Students are paired in small groups to practice skills learned in the college community.

Travel and Transportation allows for students to gain a better understanding of the various modes of transportation available to them in the area. Students learn how to navigate travel safely by understanding situational awareness and safety measures within each mode of transportation in order to become more confident travelers. Students are assessed on their ability to travel safely in their communities and their knowledge of safe travel practices.

Students plan weekend trips to gain an understanding of the different activities and places available to them within their community. A cumulative project of traveling outside the country is also completed at the end of this workshop.

The goal of this course is to further develop the ability to modulate behavior and emotional responses through direct teaching of social rules and generalizing rules. Emphasis on self-awareness practices are introduced. Students use concepts and skills learned to create a Self-Awareness project at the end of the course. 

Students in this class focus on recording duties and responsibilities that are performed in their Internship placement. Students begin to add to their culminating portfolio. Students are provided individualized academic support that are designed to assist them in identifying and utilizing effective Executive Function strategies in order to foster success across all aspects of their BRIDGES classes.

Students choose from the SUNY Orange roster of classes one of particular interest to them and attend the class as an auditing participant. Students are encouraged to
choose classes within their chosen area of vocational focus or personal areas of interest for enrichment. 

Emphasis in this course is placed on problem-solving, cognitive flexibility and Meta-Cognition. Students gain a better understanding of themselves through self-awareness projects. Students are introduced to these concepts with multiple ways to practice both conceptually and practically. 

Career Seminar II will continue to prepare students to enter the world of work. Students will have the opportunity to explore their learning styles and learn how to advocate for accommodations they may need in their workplace. Students will finalize their resumes with their newly learned skills, learn how to write a concise cover letter, and learn about appropriate dress for interview and workplace success. Students will have the opportunity to review and update their Career Exploration Portfolio and reflect back on their results. The importance of a positive and enthusiastic attitude and strong communication skills in the workplace will be reviewed. The student will continue to have the opportunity to share their experiences in their internships and will be guided to solve issues that may have arisen on their own with input and support from the instructor. 

The career seminar lab continues with students gaining work experience at an internship site. Students begin to track the duties and responsibilities that are completed during their internship hours. The culmination of their work is added to the students comprehensive work portfolio which also includes an updated resume, cover letter, letters of recommendation, the students Person Centered Plan and Stress Management Portfolio. 
Internship placements are based on selections guided by Career Exploration assessments, PAES Assessment, student input, staff observations and placement availability.

Students are supported by the Career and Internship Advisor and receive classroom instruction to hone their abilities. They also receive highly individualized support and guidance as they begin to integrate all of the knowledge and skills that they have learned from previous BRIDGES career readiness classes. 

Students learn to develop insight into their behaviors as well as taking the perspectives of others. Informal workplace communication skills such as developing friendships, reading non-verbal body language and developing empathy are also explored.

Students continue to focus on the development of necessary active listening skills and assertive advocacy strategies. Continuation of the CBT model is used so students can be mindful of their thoughts, feelings and behaviors and choose effective ways to respond to situations. 

Students put into practice developing insight into their behaviors through group work, engaging in topic talk activities to take the perspective of another student with the emphasis on incorporating reading non-verbal body language.

Students are given opportunities to practice concepts learned in class in the college setting.

This course covers a variety of topics including understanding what a community is, where it is and how students can be more involved in their communities. Students learn about Civic Engagement and contributing to their communities in a meaningful way. Units of study also include significant movements in history, Leadership and Self-Advocacy, understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act and Person First Language.

Students engage in a leadership project identifying leadership qualities in past and present leaders and applying leadership qualities to themselves. 

In the third year, students have an understanding of what triggers affect their stress levels. Students transition from the program with various completed projects including a self-awareness project and a stress management portfolio, which they continue to add onto throughout all three years. Within the portfolio, students use and identify vocabulary associated with stress from a physical, social and emotional perspective. In the natural setting of the school environment, students continue to generalize stress management tools.

Students continue to study maladaptive behaviors and the effects they have on their goals.

Students in this workshop focus on navigating and preparing for transition as they prepare for graduation. Students are introduced to the graduation application process and other steps to prepare for commencement. Staff are available to provide individualized instruction and support as necessary.

Individualized academic supports are designed to assist students in identifying and utilizing effective strategies in order to foster success across all aspects of their BRIDGES workshops.

Students choose from the SUNY Orange roster of classes one of particular interest to them and attend the class as an auditing participant.

Students are encouraged to choose classes within their chosen area of vocational focus or personal areas of interest for enrichment.