S. Oliphant, obtained a BS in Criminal Justice as well as currently a graduate student in Psychology Applied Behavior Analysis. Oliphant has been a privately licensed foster parent for 15 years working and living with teens with such diagnosis’s as; ADHD, Reactive Attachment Disorders, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (NOS), Mild Mental Retardation, Delusional Disorder, Autism, Aspergers, Anxiety, Encopresis, Addiction, PTSD, Depression, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Munchausen Syndrome and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. As a new foster parent S. Oliphant thought that the goal would be to fix the teens that would come into her home. Her initial plans were to teach basic independent living skills and prepare them to move on with their lives once they left foster care. She quickly found out that you can’t fix the problems but you can teach new skills that the teens were able to understand and accomplish. She decided to create a more structured environment and teach them the basics of what they were able to handle at their level of learning. Accept what they could do and hopefully plant a seed that will grow. These begin the years of developing forms that the teens could work and learn from and track what they were doing. Many of those forms are now in this book. Oliphant also worked in residential treatment programs for both boys and girls ages 8 to 18 years old for many years. This was an experience that brought her closer to understanding the concerns of teens and the struggles that they were dealing with in their lives. This would eventually take her into the world of foster care. This is the second book for S. Oliphant; she also authored “Open Door, Open Hearts.” This is a book on the foster care system and the struggles within the system.
Growing Up
Pros and Cons of Learning Life Skills and Independent Living Skills for Transitioning Out of Home
by S. Oliphant
Growing Up
Pros and Cons of Learning Life Skills and Independent Living Skills for Transitioning Out of Home
by S. Oliphant
Published Dec 15, 2017
266 Pages
Genre: EDUCATION / Decision-Making & Problem Solving
Book Details
This workbook was developed to help teens and young adults with transitioning out of their home environment. The workbook begins with an explanation of what growing up is and continues through the life of a teen as they prepare to move out. Units include such topics as: current living situation, high school and college, getting a drivers license or state ID, looking for a job, interviewing, contract plans for parents and teen, building resumes, dressing for interview, rules and ethics of their job, sexual harassment in the workplace, setting up a checking account, cell phone management and addiction, budgeting their money, responsibility and accountability of driving, understanding current bills versus future bills, relationship building, taking care of themselves, process for looking for an apartment, independent living skills and morals/ethics. There are 34 worksheets/questionnaires that will address situations and choices that the teen will make and in many of the worksheets the teen will need to consider the pros and cons of their choices. In some situations this helps the teen to understand their choice making and how it could affect others while it also allows the teen to work through their choices and possibly change their mind as to the consequences or encouragement of the choice. It will also give the teen a chance to see exactly how much money they spend living at home versus how much money they will need to move out and live on their own. The workbook even goes into detail as to what appliances and kitchen utensils they should have and the cost of purchasing such things will be. The workbook includes medication management, appointments and safety as well as to teach the teen what responsibility and accountability really mean in this world and how it is perceived. There are examples, with explanations, of a personal check, payroll check, employment application, W-2 form and sample cell phone plans for the teens to work with. The units are greatly detailed and easily understandable for teens to grasp the importance of what it takes to grow up and live on their own.