Promoting Community Integration: Developing Travel Training in Specialist Schools

Travel training consists of a graded approach to integrate students into local communities. It involves appropriately using modes of public transport to get to their desired destination as well as carrying out other tasks independently, such as going to restaurants; demonstrating appropriate behaviour in the local community; calculating a portion of the bill; paying for their own food; going to the supermarket to find items and paying for them. Travel training is vital to support students with disabilities to integrate into the community and consequently to enable them to complete necessary daily living tasks such as banking and food shopping as well as leisure and social activities. Travel training frequently takes place in a group and consequently it also offers students an opportunity to strengthen their social skills. This talk will discuss supporting students with the various challenges faced during travel training.

• How do we support students in the community?
• What challenges are typically faced in the community for students with various needs?