One aspect of Ranch Ehrlo that we don’t talk much about on our blog is our unique education programs!

We’ve touched on our on-campus education centresbut we haven’t told you about our Learning Centre yet. As they say, there’s no better time than the present!

The Learning Centre is a facility in Regina that is designed to meet the needs of young adults (ages 16 and over) who have severe to moderate developmental disabilities. Most of the clients suffer from complex neurological disorders, such as autism or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and all of them are either non-verbal or have very limited language abilities.

Each day, the young adults in the program complete a variety of vocational tasks within the building – for example, paper shredding, laundry, or small cleaning tasks – before heading out to the community to do things such as delivering mail to the many Ranch Ehrlo locations throughout the city, or assisting with blue bin material recycling across our agency. Afternoon activities include a variety of community inclusion activities, from swimming to gymnastics, that provide opportunities to practice social skills.

These simple routines have been developed to promote high levels of independence, but staff are always available to assist and do so using a variety of different methods such as hand over hand, picture, and verbal cuing.

So how do we help? In summation: functional life skills assist our clients in becoming independent to the best of their abilities, social skills allow each young adult to integrate within the community, and vocational and pre-vocational training enhances their quality of life by allowing them to become contributing members of society.

The individuals who attend the Learning Centre are challenged to achieve their full potential for independence, to be productive, enjoy life, and be included in the community.