Alison Mensing Email & Phone Number

I teach “Daily Living Skills" and “Functional Academics” classes at SWCCCASE's Transition program. The students who attend this program are between 18-22 years old and have a wide range of abilities. "Daily Living Skills" includes lessons in budgeting and making purchases (using cash, debit cards, or writing checks), grocery shopping (making a list, shopping for groceries, and storing foods in the proper location), nutrition and meal planning, cooking and food preparation, personal hygiene and grooming, personal health advocacy (how to talk to the doctor, taking medication safely, basic first aid, how to respond in a medical emergency), navigating safely in the community (pedestrian safety, using public transportation), learning how to do the laundry from start to finish (sorting clothes, operating the washer and dryer, folding, hanging, and ironing clothing) and learning basic cleaning skills needed to maintain one's living area. “Functional Academics” classes include telling time and solving problems related to time, measuring, money, budgeting, vocabulary, reading, and problem-solving. My lessons are based on “real life” scenarios. They focus on functional skills that are necessary for independent living. Many of my lessons have been “proved” through personal experience as the parent of a son with a disability. Many more have been added to the Transition curriculum as the result of “teachable moments” which have come along over the years. My ultimate goal as both a special educator and a parent is to provide authentic, functional learning experiences that will help my students live as independently as possible after graduation. I also provide post-school resources to the parents of my students to help them navigate their next step - life after public school supports.

Listed skills include Teaching, Special Education, Classroom Management, Classroom, and 15 others.