Student Life

Many new adjustments and transitions occur for a young person who is moving into more self-monitored (as opposed to parent monitored) living environments. Many aspects of a new living environment and lifeavailable  are to be explored.

The LDI program philosophy and approach believes it is important for an adult to be given opportunities to have both structured and unstructured time outside of regular class, work, or program obligations. This helps students learn how to balance their day and week as well as learn to be assertive and disciplined for meeting personal and program requirements.

At LDI, students learn to build their personal organizational skills, planning/prioritizing important time management/scheduling with staff. Then, it is expected for the students to put these skills into practical application.

Students will have a variety of routinely structured activities such as regular class times, work schedules, college classes, community classes, weekly shopping, apartment management, LDI social/recreational activities, appointments with staff, and course tutoring.

Students are encouraged to learn about the surrounding area of the city and reach out to make friends with other students. The students have the ability to participate in many activities in the local area.

For example, there are two large movie theatre complexes, a private fitness center, one of the largest malls in the state, several hundred stores, and over 100 places to eat – all within walking distance. Within short driving distance, there is an ice skating rink, in-line skating rink, go kart racing track (indoors), horse stables, dirt bike and quad rentals/trails, rock climbing, and a huge reservoir offering jet skiing, water skiing, and fishing.

There is national football and hockey league stadiums teams within less than ten miles from the LDI. In addition, there are four spring training facilities for Major League Baseball and NASCAR racing within 15 miles. Another major focus for the students is spending time together within the apartment community where they host BBQ parties, soak in the hot tub, watch movies, play games, or swim at one of two pools in the complex.

Please enjoy our gallery of student life and campus photos by clicking on any one of the albums below!

LDI Tour

Students arrive at LDI with a wide spectrum of issue, goals, and objectives. The LDI staff work with students to identify and understand both their personal assets and limitations-not just in the realm of disabilities, but as human beings. This approach assists in students understanding how to develop the self-awareness needed to face the challenges of the adult world.

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Student Life at LDI

At LDI, students have opportunities to learn to build personal organizational skills, planning/prioritizing important time management/scheduling with staff. Then, it is expected for the students to put this knowledge and information into practical application. These are some of the skills need to carry on daily adult lives beyond the program.

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The purpose of student advisement is to assist each student attain a sense of empowerment, identity and achievement. This is achieved through a succession of “doable”, realistic goals while successfully confronting the challenge and the proposed “journey” together. The LDI approach is supportive, practical, individualized and concrete.

LDI students and advisors are scheduled to meet weekly, and depending on the situation, more often. A Plan of Action, developed between student/advisor, determines focal areas of development in specified life domains.

The Plan of Action addresses the unique work, education, and community functional strengths, limitations, needs, and preferences of the individual. It appraises the characteristics of employment, social situations, independent living, and community settings in which the students find themselves over the course of each year.

Recommendations and action steps focus on practical, adult life and independent skills that enable the person to survive and function in the real world. This plan is developed at the start of each year, and updated each trimester to allow for the ongoing assessment of growth and skill acquisition of the student.

Each student’s developmental needs, experiences and issues are individual-specific, hence, the advisement process is individualized for the student. As the central figure in the student’s process, advisors work collaboratively and collectively with all program departments to ensure consistent delivery of services and student development.

Roles and Relationships

Advisors intervene and communicate the needs, concerns, challenges and progress of their students with appropriate department staff relative to the life domains on a regular basis.

Student advisors work jointly with external professionals – i.e., educational consultants, college resources and advisement staff as well as other outside service providers.

Although LDI focuses on maturation processes of the young adult toward independence, it also recognizes the importance of advisor/parent involvement and communication. LDI emphasizes parental support rather than direct parental intervention.

The purpose of Residential Services is to provide an interdependent and independent living environment. The plan helps students to acquire levels of self-sufficiency and other-relatedness through experiential learning and practical application. The overall goal is to develop and acquire adult life skills and their processes.

The intent is to offer residential living in an adult community environment, where each student lives as part of the community, as opposed to living in a segregated, therapeutic, or dorm-like setting. As a performance-based program, LDI promotes responsible adult behavior by creating a living environment that places personal lifestyle decisions and choices in the hands of the students.

Students have an opportunity to decide what and how they want to live, as long as it is within the established laws/standards of the community, does not interfere or adversely impact program performance, or pose a safety/health risk. Parents understand that personal growth and success is very dependent on the student’s acceptance of adult responsibilities and behaviors.

LDI students live alone in one bedroom apartments or in two-bedroom apartments with a roommate paired by age, lifestyle and temperament. Students are assisted through one-on-one mentoring and modeling in areas of health care, medication management, personal hygiene, time management and organizational skills.

Students are provided opportunities and are scheduled to participate in classes and activities which involve the following adult life domains: 1) Household Management; 2) Social interaction and friendship; 3) Recreation/leisure; and, 4) Community. Weekly cooking classes offer instruction and supervision for menu planning, transportation for grocery shopping, meal preparation with use of recipes and post-meal clean up in addition to kitchen safety basics, use of appliances and table etiquette.

Apartment inspections occur weekly; mentoring assistance is established for those requiring additional residential skill development, task and technique demonstration, organization and support. Weekend activities and some weeknight events are scheduled and staffed.