I am so happy to announce that NextWork is finally fully staffed! We have doubled our staff and hope to double the number of clients we serve! Here is the schedule for Winter 2023 classes. Please message us if you have any questions or would like to register. CLASSES START JANUARY 9, 2023! Download/ print the registration form (fillable pdf) below and email it to amy@nextworkacademy.org

Class Descriptions:

Stress Management–our clients have indicated that managing stress is… well… stressful! In this class, we discuss different coping mechanisms to help you temporarily and for the longer term. This class is followed by Guided Meditation, and the classes will often overlap because meditation is one effective way to manage stress. Being able to manage your stress is one key to being a successful, independent adult.

Guided Meditation–we have found that even the clients who claim to not believe in meditation appreciate an hour to just chill. Taking the time to learn how to relax helps with stress management. If we can give our brains time to rest and recuperate, we avoid keeping our brains in emergency mode. When our brains spend a long amount of time in emergency mode, we experience high levels of anxiety, and we are more likely to be impaired by that anxiety because we’ll be jumpy, irritable, and sometimes we will see bad intent in people who don’t have bad intent. This affects our jobs and our social lives and can make everything more difficult.

Cleaning Tips and Tricks–this one is pretty self-explanatory. We’ll help you learn how to keep things clean, discussing everything from laundry to making inexpensive, eco-friendly cleaners at home.

Routine Responsibilities–we hear that autists like schedules and like to have a routine. The truth is, everyone lives by their routines and their habits, and when we fall out of a routine, it can even affect us physically. In this class, we discuss how routines can help us become more effective adults, and how maintenance of healthy routines truly is the key to independence.

Career Exploration and Job Prep–What’s the difference between a career and a job? Does every job have to lead to a career? We gain different benefits from the different jobs we work, and they may contribute to a career in ways we can’t predict. A career is a collection of experiences, education and skills over a person’s lifetime, and it’s extremely rare for someone in their twenties to work in a field from which they will retire. Especially in the United States, we are free to study different subjects and try on different fields and jobs as if they were types of clothing. There are millions of different jobs. It’s just a matter of finding the right types for you. You’ll be surprised at how many different jobs your skills are needed. And you’ll be surprised at how many skills you already have.

Adulting is one of our most popular classes. Based on Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, this class helps you identify how self-management increases your independence. This term, we will review the basic concepts of CBT and self-management in adulthood.

We’re also continuing with our Thursday night dinners and activity nights. Message me with any questions! Community Activities with Taylor–you’ll use public transit to access the community with your peers–you may attend this class for free if you are registered for two other classes.

New this term–two grocery store trips, sign up for workout classes, set up appointments with staff on Fridays, set up tours on Mondays, or set up an individual appointment to do some career exploration on Tuesdays. We are also working on scheduling a group activity in the community each month.