Colton, CA–With the popularity of television shows like “Love on the Spectrum,” which documents how adults on the autism spectrum navigate the challenges of relationships, the stereotypes facing those with developmental disabilities are beginning to crumble. This is not just true for those with autism, but for those with a range of other developmental challenges as well.
Relationships are a challenge for everyone, regardless of any developmental issues. This goes double for those with special needs.
It’s true that people with developmental disabilities struggle to experience relationships. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) reports that 85% of youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) wish to pursue a romantic relationship, yet struggle to achieve that deeper connection.
Jordan Mondak, Speech Language Pathologist at Colton High School, works with the school’s Transitional Opportunity Program. The program, focused on teaching independent skills such as making purchases, accessing public transportation, and performing important daily tasks, serves moderate-to-severe adults between 18-22.
Social skills are essential to the success of TOP students. Because these students are adults, they are exploring the world of having different types of relationships from friends to family and even romantic partners.
With this in mind, Mondak created a curriculum titled “Social Wifi” to support his moderate-to-severe students with navigating different types of relationships.
Mondak said, “One of the teachers from the TOP program came up to me and had a lot of issues with some of her students, like relationship drama, just kind of not knowing how to navigate different types of relationships, even just friendships. So she came to me and was wondering if, like, there’s anything that I could do to help with that.”
One of the TOP instructors, Lindsey Scarbrough said, “For our students, if it’s not something they’re interested in or something that relates to them, they don’t absorb it as easily. Their old lessons had outdated material that didn’t relate to them. Yeah it discussed relationships, how to figure out how to interact with different people, appropriate interactions, like, especially with like, boyfriend, girlfriends, and then even strangers, but it wasn’t relevant to our current students.”
And that was what inspired the development of “Social Wifi” in 2024. The curriculum’s name references the real life social networks young adults face today. Mondak continued, “That was the thing that prompted it, I wanted to create something to address the issues with the students. I’ve also heard parents, and their biggest concern is for [their children] not to get taken advantage of.”
Both understanding student boundaries and how to say “no” when they’re feeling uncomfortable is a priority of the curriculum.
The curriculum is divided into different “levels.” The first level discusses family and romantic partners, then with each level, students are able to develop skills beyond learning about their inner circle of relationships, to learning about how to interact with people outside of their circle, such as strangers.
The biggest challenge for Mondak was figuring out how to explain the complexities of relationships in simplified terms. He said, “Social skills and social situations are not black and white, right? And so trying to create a curriculum so that kids can understand it, I think that’s been the most challenging piece.”
Measuring the success of the program is also important when creating a curriculum, making sure students are taking into account what they’re learning and putting it into real world practice. “I look for how they’re engaging in conversation, it brings up a lot of topics, and the teachers do a good job of drawing out experiences, maybe that they had in the community, like the day before, and how it can relate to what we’re talking about in the curriculum.”
One of the TOPS students, Joseph Caton said, “We learn about going out in the community, and how to go to the waitress and tell them your order and also we learn how to follow directions and personal space.”
Scarbrough said, “It’s really helped them develop confidence and navigate different social relationships, because that’s a huge issue that my students with extensive needs have, is being able to figure out what to do with different relationships.”
Mondak said, “Some of her students in a restaurant, ‘Oh, that’s a community helper. That’s a level four. We know we’re not going to touch them.’ So just feedback from that was really exciting, because they took what they learned from the classroom and then used it in the community.”
Since the curriculum is still fresh, Mondak is working with the TOP classes to improve its functionality. “I’ve refined it until this year, and I added a lot more visuals, a lot more activities in the presentation to make it more engaging.”
As it stands, Mondak’s curriculum is currently in use at Colton High, but he has sold it to other speech therapists within the district at multiple levels, including those working at Grand Terrace High, Colton Middle, Joe Baca Middle, Terrace Hills Middle, and Lincoln Elementary.
Currently, Mondak is working on spreading his curriculum to the students’ parents so they are aware of what their children are learning and how they can better understand their children.
He said, “I wanted to make it simple for parents to use, and kind of give them power as well to teach their kids at home . . . I know a lot of them don’t really know how to navigate when their children start getting older, and so I wanted to make it simple enough for parents to use as well.”
Curriculum like “Social Wifi” reminds those without developmental challenges that individuals who face them not only share the same needs, but also require extra help to be successful.
