An image of a young woman learning gardening skills through potting plants. The background shows a wall of plastic plant pots.

Life Skills Development for Individuals with I/DD

An image of a young woman learning gardening skills through potting plants. The background shows a wall of plastic plant pots.

About The Arc’s Life Skills Development Center
formerly known as Adult Day Training

A woman helps a young man with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities feed a miniature horse as a therapeutic activity.

Our Life Skills Development Center (LSD) provides a safe place for individuals to engage in meaningful activities that promote independence and increase the skills needed to lead a rewarding life. Activities are tailored to each individual’s goals and are rooted in the whole-person philosophy of maximizing a person’s overall health, well-being, and quality of life. When creating meaningful activities for our clients, our Life Skills Development Center focuses on the six domains of functioning: cognitive, emotional, physical, social, spiritual, and vocational. Focusing on these six domains of functioning allows us to adequately prepare our clients for an independent lifestyle they are capable of achieving.

We follow a curriculum designed for each person based on their strengths with emphasis on achieving their personal goals. Our programs provide for a variety of interests, including: adult basic education, employment readiness, arts & crafts, personal grooming and hygiene, exercise and gardening, exposure to basic technology, community outings, etc. Additionally, there is opportunity for social interaction and the development of social skills, leading them to improved experiences with community integration.

The 3 Categories of Life Skills Development

Life Skills Development 1 • This service was formerly known as companion services. It includes nonmedical care and socialization activities provided to an adult on a one-to-one basis or in groups of up to three recipients.

Life Skills Development 2 • This service encompasses the service formerly known as supported employment for both individual and group models. It helps the individual to get and keep a job in his or her community, or to develop and operate a small business.

Life Skills Development 3 • This service, formerly known as adult day training, supports the individual to participate in valued experiences in the community, including volunteering, job exploration, accessing community resources, and self-advocacy in work-like settings that are age and culturally appropriate.

How to Receive Life Skills Development Services

Our Life Skills Development Center accepts individuals through MedWaiver and APD. If these options are not available to the person, we do accept private payments. Those interested in learning more about private pay can contact our office for information on rates, availability, etc.