Department of The ABLE Program
The ABLE (Achieving Balance in Life through Education) Program embraces the strengths, needs, and differences of all individuals. It is dedicated to developing, expanding, and improving inclusive higher education options for people with intellectual disabilities. The ABLE program works with young adults with intellectual disabilities in recognizing their strengths, interests, and preferences and provides them with a path to meet their long term, self-driven, personal, and professional goals. The program is approved as a Comprehensive Transition Plan that allows the students to graduate with a certificate of completion. Under a CTP, the students complete courses that expand their living skills and job skills for their future use. In addition, the ABLE program is committed to supporting the education of the campus and community in understanding the potential of individuals with disabilities as full members of the workforce and community.
The program creates opportunities for students to reach the following goals: Increase the students’ social and emotional growth through interactions with typical peers, increase independent living skills through natural opportunities, provide access to educational experiences in the students’ areas of interest, locate work experience opportunities that take into account a student’s strengths, preferences, interests, and needs, and support the student’s family in seeing the student’s potential and aiding in the transition into the workforce.
Students in the ABLE Program will complete 48 credit hours of ABLE Program specific courses:
Daily Living Skills
AB 010 Laundry Skills (four semesters)
AB 015 Nutrition and Fitness (four semesters)
AB 020 Cooking (eight semesters)
AB 030 Caring for Personal Needs (one semester)
AB 035 The Life Skill of Budgeting and Finance (four semesters)
Self Determination and Interpersonal Skills
AB 040 Making Good Decisions (two semesters)
AB 045 Self-Awareness (two semesters)
AB 060 Relationship Roles and Communication with Others (one semester)
Professional/Employment Skills
AB 070 Careers (one semester)
AB 080 Introduction to Work Skills (one semester)
AB 095 Work Experience Internship (eight semesters)
Students also audit two courses in the traditional undergraduate program each semester. These courses are based on a combination of required courses, including MI 285 Understanding the Christian Faith, EX 101 Wellness for Life, SE 232 Education of the Exceptional Learner, and CO 215 Public Speaking and interest-based courses.
Courses in ABLE
In this seven-week course, students will focus on the skills needed to buy and care for clothing, including but not limited to, how to wash, dry, and fold their own laundry.
This seven-week course will acquaint students with skills to plan healthy meals, exercises that will help them to stay healthy, and other general health skills.
This course will explore kitchen safety and preparation of meals. In addition, grocery shopping skills, including comparison shopping, will be addressed. Students enroll in this course every semester.
Students will be introduced to a variety of skills regarding personal needs in this course, including filling out health information, proper hygiene and dress, illness prevention and treatment, personal safety, and making appointments.
This course considers the different levels and the abilities of the students. Students will learn how to make a budget and stay within their given budget. They will also learn how to use a credit/debit card, pay with cash, and use a checkbook. Students will know how to count money to pay and to know if they have received the correct amount of change. Students enroll in this course every fall semester.
Students will learn problem solving and flexible thinking skills and how to set goals and make a plan to achieve them. Additionally, self-evaluation skills will be practiced: evaluating and giving self-feedback for decisions made and how to improve these decisions.
This course focuses on students identifying their own needs and preferences. Emphasis will be placed on awareness of how one's behavior affects others.
A detailed examination of relationships. Students will identify reasons for establishing relationships, personal responsibilities in these relationships, joint responsibility in relationships, and demonstrate effective relationships with friends and others. Verbal and nonverbal communication, positives and negatives of assertive communication, and how to respond in emergencies will be introduced.
This course covers skills to seek, secure, and maintain employment. In addition, students will create resumes and participate in mock interviews.
This course will focus on soft skills needed for students to be an effective employee and appropriate employability skills: following directions, punctuality, workplace safety, producing quality work, and working with others.
This internship provides work experience for students on Huntington University's campus or throughout the Huntington community. Placements are made based on student interest and needs of the campus and Huntington community. The internships are designed to grow the students' employability skills to help them reach their future career goals. Students complete either an on- or off-campus work experience each semester.