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Residential Homes - Readiness for Assisted Living - Assisted Living
Community Living - Student Population - Coeducation
The Learning Clinic's Rolling Ridge Residential Program is comprised of four levels:
- Residential Care
- Readiness for Assisted Living
- Assisted Living
- Community Living
The Residential homes are a highly structured, 24-hour supervised living arrangement. Students develop necessary daily living, problem solving, and social skills. The Readiness for Assisted Living houses provide students with necessary vocational and self-monitoring skills with lesser degrees of supervision. Once the student masters these skills, they may progress to an Assisted Living House.
In these houses, emphasis is on greater degrees of self-monitoring and community access. Students learn all aspects of community living. The final step is Community Living. A student in the Community Living level is expected to demonstrate independent living skills with limited supervision. The Learning Clinic's Residential Program is fluid and flexible, allowing students to step ahead and step back as necessary to meet their individual needs.
Student census numbers are based on a typical census at any given time. Residential students participate in the day school and extended day program in addition to the day students.
RESIDENTIAL HOMES
ABINGTON NORTH, BREEZE, POMFRET, AND PONDVIEW (Top)
The residential homes are located within the rural countryside of northeastern Connecticut. Each home is unique in design and size and provides a family-like, therapeutic environment for students of mixed ages and skills. The setting emphasizes family skills and community oriented activities to promote self-reliance and social skill development. The students participate in the daily tasks of running a home such as cooking, grocery shopping, chores, and planning activities. Our residences have separate sleeping areas for boys and girls. Both single and double rooms are usually available.
All homes are staffed with 24-hour supervision by our house parents. Each house features overnight staff that remain awake throughout the night. During the school week the scheduled house parent-to-student ratio is 1:4. On weekends, and during vacation hours the staff-to-student ratio may vary from 1:1 to 1:8. At all times a supervisor is part of the schedule. Staff and supervisor are supported with a 24-hour clinical on-call system. Residential staff receive ongoing training in teaching and psychological methods best suited for our students. Through a formal system of operationally defined goals, families participate in the continuation of the program during home visitation on weekends and holidays. Evenings and weekends at TLC residences include community activities as well as activity and educational oriented field trips.
READINESS FOR ASSISTED LIVING
ABINGTON SOUTH, ELLIOTT HOUSE (Top)
Our Readiness for Assisted Living program is for students who are 16-18 years old. We provide the support, structure, and supervision necessary to help students make choices about moving away from home and school environments. Our curriculum stresses self-reliance and goal setting. The end result of the program is that students learn to solve problems and make decisions regarding work, living arrangements, health, money, transportation, and leisure. We include activities designed to improve self-esteem and social skills.
Students matriculate through the program toward greater levels of ability for self regulation and social judgment to be able to reside in settings with greater degrees of independence, e.g. our Readiness for Assisted Living, Assisted Living, Independent Living programs. These houses are same sex because of the lower degree of direct supervision and time in off campus activities.
ASSISTED LIVING
PIERCE HOUSE, CARRIAGE HOUSE, POMFRET NORTH (Top)
Pierce House is located in Brooklyn Village, about 2 miles from the main campus. The house provides for 6 male students to have increased opportunities for independence while being mentored under conditions of less structure. Students are expected to be employed and/or enrolled in the local community college.
Pierce House and Pomfret North provide an experience that maintains therapeutic contacts and focus on social skills development. This is a prerequisite experience to apartment living. Male students between the ages of 18-22 are eligible for this program. The Carriage House is located on our main campus. The Carriage House is for female students and uses the same set of expectations as those established for Pierce House. The aim is increasing independence and community involvement.
COMMUNITY LIVING (Top)
Our community living experience provides monitoring and support to those students who are ready for the next step toward more independence. Apartment living within the community is monitored to assist students adjusting to new challenges of independence, work, and school.
STUDENT POPULATION (Top)
The student body consists of 70 students, of which 38 are boarding students. Students' ages range from 8 to 22 with the mode being 15.
COEDUCATION (Top)
Girls make up about one third of our students. The Learning Clinic is an appropriate placement for both young and adolescent girls, as well as boys of the same age range. Our residential living is within a coeducation experience.
The Learning Clinic, Inc. is accredited by The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), with diploma granting privileges. TLC is a member of the National Association of Private Special Education Centers, licensed by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and approved by the Department of Education of Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York (interim placement).