Program Coordinator: Brad Carpenter, M. A., ALC
The Adolescent Adaptive Skills Training Program is an outpatient program which serves students ranging in age from 12 to 18 years old. We contract with the Tuscaloosa City and County Boards of Education to provide both educational and mental health services. Therefore, we provide services to students all over Tuscaloosa County.
Our goal is to assist students in returning to their home school, functioning in the least restrictive educational environment possible. Students return to their home school is based on several measures, cumulating with a treatment team and the respective special education department decision of the student showing adequate improvement to function in their home school. Length of stay for students varies depending on the amount of progress which they display.
An average day is scheduled much like the students’ home schools, with the school day lasting from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. During the school day, students are provided an individualized education, based on their Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), in a classroom environment with a teacher and two classroom aides. Our program has a capacity of 16 students, with a city and a county classroom containing eight students in each room. Along with their general academics, our students are also provided basic living skills training, as well as individual and group therapy.
Brewer-Porch Children’s Center contracts with Dr. Giggie, child psychiatrist, to serve as a part of our treatment team. We operate from two documents that drive all of our services. First is the IEP, from which our education staff derives their direction, and second is our Individualized Treatment Plan (ITP). Parents and the students are expected to be significantly involved in the planning, education, and treatment that occur while in our program.
If you have any questions, contact Brad Carpenter at (205) 348-5397 or bcarpenter@bpcc.ua.edu.
