S.T.R.I.D.E.
Striving Toward Reaching Independence and Developing Essential SkillsOur S.T.R.I.D.E. transition program (ages 18–22) builds on individualized planning that begins around age 14½. It’s purposefully crafted to guide students toward independence by focusing on core life, vocational, and personal growth skills.
Core Focus Areas
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- Life Enrichment Skills: Encourages exploration of new activities that can become lifelong hobbies
and interests, fostering engagement with the wider world. - Functional Living Skills: Builds essential daily living skills such as personal grooming, laundry,
meal preparation, and taking responsibility for personal belongings. - Vocational Readiness Skills: Offers weekly community outings where students apply and generalize skills in real-world settings. Provides a range of on-site job roles, such as paper retriever, snack cart assistant, library helper, and vending machine stocker. Includes community-based volunteer placements at organizations like Hilton Hotel, Lisle Bowling, Hobby Lobby, and We Grow Dreams.
- Sensory Regulation: Each student benefits from a personalized sensory diet—integrated
proactively throughout the day to support regulation and learning readiness. - Leisure and Focus Skills: Supports students in appropriately engaging in varied social and recreational activities, enhancing social competence and confidence.
- Life Enrichment Skills: Encourages exploration of new activities that can become lifelong hobbies
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Transition Community
Community-Based Instruction (CBI) at Giant Steps centers on empowering students through job readiness, enhanced independence, and functional academics, both within the school and in external community settings. Offering instruction in both individual and small-group formats (2–4 students), the curriculum is custom-tailored to each student’s needs. It emphasizes collaboration with families in developing transition plans and preparing for life beyond graduation (up to age 22 at the therapeutic day school).
Vocational and Functional Opportunities
Students engage in meaningful, goal-driven activities to build practical skills. These include student roles such as cleaning, stocking, attendance collection, recycling, and managing a café cart. Additionally, students gain real-world experience through unpaid volunteer placements with community partners like Hilton Hotel, Buffalo Wild Wings, Lisle Bowling, Hobby Lobby, and We Grow Dreams
Therapeutic Programming at Giant Steps
Our Transition students (ages 18–22) benefit from a rich array of therapeutic services—including music therapy, social work, speech therapy, and occupational therapy—designed to foster skill generalization across multiple environments. Here’s how these specialized programs are thoughtfully integrated:
Holistic Therapy Integration:
Our multidisciplinary approach ensures that therapy is not an add-on, but is
woven seamlessly into students’ daily routines—strengthening meaning,
engagement, and relevance across all settings.
Specialized Therapeutic Experiences:
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- Hair-Cut Desensitization: Supports students in overcoming sensory challenges through gradual, systematic exposure.
- Giant Steps (GS) Works program: Students engage in a variety of meaningful job-related activities, such as:
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- Typing, packing, and delivering school supply orders
- Operating the cafe
- Managing the library
- Running our cafe cart
- Stocking the vending machines
- Restocking student bathrooms
- Restocking first aid kits
- Refilling printers with paper
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Staffing
At Giant Steps, we recognize that students’ needs can fluctuate from day to day. That’s why we employ a flexible staffing model tailored to each student’s current support needs. We also emphasize fostering independence: students are encouraged to work as autonomously as possible while receiving the targeted support they require to succeed across a range of environments.
