Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 Receives Grant for Community-Based Learning Opportunities

LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA – Throughout the 2023-24 school year, students in the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13) Autistic Support classroom at Elizabethtown Area High School have been participating in enrichment activities to help them transition to independence after they graduate. The program was funded by a grant from CCRES, and features opportunities for venturing outside the classroom to practice and learn new skills.

Eight students have participated in these activities that will eventually amount to at least 19 different community-based instructional opportunities. The students experienced things like getting a haircut, using the bank, riding a train, bus, taxi, and elevator, going to places throughout the community such as the library, movies, or bowling, and much more. These allowed the students to practice social/speech skills, maintaining a conversation, conversational turn talking, asking questions, reading non-verbal communication, and writing and math skills, among others.

The community-based instruction activities were made possible by a grant from CCRES, a non-profit organization that partners with intermediate units, school districts, and behavioral health programs to provide specialized support for children and adults with special needs.