Work center

Changing one's role from student to worker is often a difficult transition, especially today when options for employment are linked with specialized training. For the handicapped adolescent it is almost impossible without very special training and guidance. Recent legislation affecting the handicapped mandated that efforts to assist this process shall begin two years prior to the student's graduation or at age twenty. Some writers insist that such supportive programming should begin when students are quite young and that it should be conducted within realistic "work" environments. Recognizing this need, the occupational therapy staff in a private school for special needs children and adolescents have taken a proactive stance and have initiated a work program for all students beginning as early as age 10. This paper describes the pilot Work Center, organized within a school and structured on a rehabilitation workshop model.