Have you heard of the adult weeks at North Dakota Vision Services / School for the Blind? Have you wondered what they are, how they work, what happens at them, etc.? Below is a description of an adult week that occurs at NDVS/SB.
The adult week adults usually arrive on Sunday after 3:00 P.M., they stay on campus at NDVS/SB. We have Suites where the adults get their own bedroom to themselves, they may share a bathroom with another adult. We have a common area outside of the bedrooms with couches, tables, and a large screen television. The evenings are staffed with house parents, who help with evening meals, and evening activities.
The week of programming, the adult who is attending a week of programming will have been in contact with a NDVS/SB Vision Rehabilitation Specialist provider beforehand. They will determine the adults needs and what classes they want. The classes can consist of many different kinds:
· Technology, learning how to use a smartphone and the number of different apps a person can use. Learn adaptations for one’s computer, adaptive software such as screen magnification or screen readers.
· Orientation & Mobility develop skills to travel safely inside and outside independently. Learn about human guide, learn about a cane and how might that be helpful for a person in a variety of different settings.
· Daily Living Skills, Nervous about cooking, this class can take away some of the nerves, from cutting safely, safety at the range top, money skills, identification of clothing, what we all take for granted on a daily basis can be covered in this class.
· Braille, wonder what Braille is? Wonder if it can be used in your life for reading, labeling, everyday communication? Already know braille but need further instruction and an update on the code.
· Recreation and Leisure, this class can teach a variety of different skills that a person can do since they have lost vision. It may be physical from tandem bicycling, board games, how to adapt tasks you have been doing and you enjoy.
· Adjustment, we offer a class with the University of North Dakota in the Clinical Psychology and have an intern who can help with some of the adjustment and loss a person has due to vision loss.
What does the schedule of the day look like? The day starts out at 8:00AM with breakfast and then classes start at 8:30 with the classes being an hour long. Lunch is at 11:45 and then a group class at 12:30 where a variety of topics can be discussed due to vision loss and coping. The day concludes at 4:00PM. Adults have enjoyed coming to the school and learning new skills and enhancing other skills that they already have.
Does an adult have to come to all five days of training? No, they could come for as little as one day or all five days. We would like the adult to have at least two goals to work on. For a new client they may just be learning and getting information about the variety of classes.
Do you have to be scheduled for all six classes during the day? No, if you need a break during the day, we can schedule this in for you. We are flexible in meeting your needs.
When are the Adult weeks? Our next adult week is March 2nd, May 11th, and then June 1st. There will be adult weeks next fall, but they are not scheduled yet at this time. They will be in September and December.
If you have any questions about the adult programming, please give us a call. (701) 795-2700