A structured, supportive life skills program helping young adults build confidence, independence, and real-world skills for adult life in Orem, Utah.
Our Life Skills Program For Young Adults
At STRiV Forward, we offer a life skills program designed to help students develop essential skills through mentoring, executive functioning coaching, therapy, hands-on practice, and social interaction. Young adult students between the ages of 18 and 25+ live in our fully furnished apartments and receive a flexible, structured schedule to promote independence. This allows our students to learn and practice these skills in a real-world setting while maintaining structured support from our team of professionals. By the time our students graduate, they will have built up a tool-kit of skills to keep them safe, healthy, and successful as independent adults.
Why Families and Young Adults Choose STRiV Forward
STRiV Forward sets itself apart by offering a unique, supportive environment tailored to help young adults build independence and confidence.
Safe Space for Growth: We understand how challenging it can be to transition into adulthood. Our program offers a supportive environment where students can learn from failure and try again without the pressure of perfection, fostering resilience and confidence.
Personalized Support: Each student receives tailored mental health care designed to promote community, growth, and accountability. Our small, boutique setting ensures individualized attention with a 1:4 mentor-to-student ratio, enabling meaningful connections and personalized guidance.
Community, Not Just Treatment: Students are integrated into a supportive community rather than feeling like just a participant in a treatment program. We respect their independence through a freedom-first approach that includes no strict curfews and permission to use technology.
Freedom to Pursue Passions: We encourage students to engage in hobbies and activities they love. Our flexible environment promotes self-discovery and confidence, helping students develop independence through meaningful experiences.
Long-Term Relationships: Our dedicated staff has an exceptionally low turnover rate, allowing mentors to build lasting, trust-based relationships with students. This stability supports ongoing growth and personalized mentoring.
Structured Opportunities for Reflection and Growth: Within our safe and supportive environment, students are encouraged to reflect, learn from their experiences, and grow at their own pace. The combination of peer and professional support creates a nurturing space for meaningful development.
Safe Space for Growth: We understand how challenging it can be to transition into adulthood. Our program offers a supportive environment where students can learn from failure and try again without the pressure of perfection, fostering resilience and confidence.
Personalized Support: Each student receives tailored mental health care designed to promote community, growth, and accountability. Our small, boutique setting ensures individualized attention with a 1:4 mentor-to-student ratio, enabling meaningful connections and personalized guidance.
Community, Not Just Treatment: Students are integrated into a supportive community rather than feeling like just a participant in a treatment program. We respect their independence through a freedom-first approach that includes no strict curfews and permission to use technology.
Freedom to Pursue Passions: We encourage students to engage in hobbies and activities they love. Our flexible environment promotes self-discovery and confidence, helping students develop independence through meaningful experiences.
Long-Term Relationships: Our dedicated staff has an exceptionally low turnover rate, allowing mentors to build lasting, trust-based relationships with students. This stability supports ongoing growth and personalized mentoring.
Structured Opportunities for Reflection and Growth: Within our safe and supportive environment, students are encouraged to reflect, learn from their experiences, and grow at their own pace. The combination of peer and professional support creates a nurturing space for meaningful development.
Three Simple Steps to Starting Your Recovery
Getting Started is Easy!
Step One
Call Today!
Reach out to our compassionate admissions team any time for a 100% confidential consultation and immediate support.
Step Two
Verify Insurance
Our specialists will quickly coordinate with your provider to maximize your coverage and minimize your out-of-pocket costs.
Step Three
Schedule Admissions
We will help you coordinate travel logistics and set a start date so you can begin your journey to recovery in a safe, welcoming environment.
Signs a Young Adult May Benefit From Life Skills Training
Common Indicators
Some common indicators that can tell you if your emerging adult can benefit from life skills training include:
- Struggles with feelings of anxiety or depression
- Difficulty managing responsibilities
- Lack of social skills and/or struggling to maintain healthy relationships
- Challenges in achieving independence, such as struggles with financial literacy
- Struggling with time management and other executive functioning skills
- Low self-esteem
- Having an underlying mental health condition or neurodevelopmental disorder, which can make forming new skills challenging, such as mild autism or ADHD
In general, everyone can benefit from life skills training. However, some young adults may face challenges that require professional, individualized training for the best success.
Life Skills Support for Diverse Needs
STRiV Forward is prepared to help a diverse range of young people develop the essential life skills they need for independent living. This can include assisting students with disabilities and special needs due to neurodevelopmental conditions such as mild autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, to assisting young people transitioning out of high school or foster care.
Our Life Skills Program Model
Transitional Living With Built-In Support
Our transitional living program is designed to complement our life skills program, providing a hands-on, real-life approach to learning. Students live in semi-independent, fully furnished apartments with access to professional supervision and support. This gives students the space and safety to practice the skills they learn while having access to professional support. Students can also get help should they need it, but for the most part, they are responsible for their daily living.
Evidence-Based Life Skills Development
STRiV Forward believes in teaching practical skills using evidence-based methods to give each student a well-rounded toolkit. These skills are taught by mentors, executive functioning coaches, and mental health care professionals who use methods such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), positive psychology, and more for an individualized, integrated approach to learning.
Essential Life Skills We Teach
Independent Living Skills
To be fully independent, our students must learn to develop self-sufficiency for safe and healthy daily living. These skills can include:
- Financial literacy, such as money management and budgeting
- Basic household maintenance, such as cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning
- Self-care needs, such as sleep hygiene, proper nutrition, mental health awareness, and the value of exercise
- Home safety, such as how to use a fire extinguisher and what to do in emergencies
- Transportation, such as maintaining a car or taking public transport
Executive Functioning & Time Management Support
Executive Functioning sessions are important for students interested in careers, further education, and independent living. Some skills we teach to our students include:
- Decision-making and problem-solving
- How to manage and prioritize tasks
- Stress tolerance
- Managing time effectively
- Preventing burnout
- Organization
Students at STRiV meet with our Executive Functioning coach twice per week, with additional meetings as needed. These sessions are focused on both executive functioning and life skills.
Communication and Social Skills
Learning how to effectively communicate and socialize doesn’t mean just talking to others; it also means working effectively in your community, forming relationships, and even resume building. Some examples of skills we teach include:
- Communication skills, both verbal and professional writing skills
- Conflict resolution
- Building and maintaining friendships
- Community involvement
Vocational and Career Readiness Skills
Preparing for Work and Adult Responsibility
Learning how to job search and maintain employment is socially expected for all young men and women. Some may gain this experience through an after-school job or working with their families. However, for students with mental health and neurodevelopmental challenges, this learning curve can be more difficult.
As such, part of the life skills training at STRiV Forward is dedicated to helping students prepare for work and other adult responsibilities. This includes pursuing higher education to facilitate job opportunities after school is completed.
As such, part of the life skills training at STRiV Forward is dedicated to helping students prepare for work and other adult responsibilities. This includes pursuing higher education to facilitate job opportunities after school is completed.
Vocational Training and Community Engagement
Part of life at STRiV is participating in our vocational training program, which helps students prepare for employment through executive functioning coaching, workshops, and role-playing scenarios. Students learn how to conduct themselves during interviews, write resumes and cover letters, and prepare to be on time and work well with others.
This ties into our community engagement initiative, which offers employment opportunities and other services while students are living at STRiV. We believe that community is important to adulthood, and we encourage this participation through community service, recreational activities, and student-led activities.
This ties into our community engagement initiative, which offers employment opportunities and other services while students are living at STRiV. We believe that community is important to adulthood, and we encourage this participation through community service, recreational activities, and student-led activities.
Life Skills Groups at STRiV Forward
Community Integration Group
Our Community Integration Group is designed to optimize the vocational, social, and personal attributes of our students to facilitate successful independent living. By participating in our community, our students are empowered to explore their individual interests, attributes, and skills. This helps students develop critical skills with the assistance of their new community.
Life Skills Group
Our life skills group, facilitated by our Health and Wellness and Executive Function coaches, focuses on helping students develop the crucial life skills needed to achieve sustainable progress and personal growth. This is taught through a blend of lessons, conversations, practice, games, and activities that help students transition to productive adulthood. Our life skills group is specially tailored to address a wide range of needs and challenges faced by our students.
Purpose, Values, Direction + Feedback Group
This group is designed to help students increase their group cohesion and provide and receive feedback to improve our community. Led by our Director of Operations, group members are instructed on ways to effectively communicate feedback, learn how to respond, and develop an understanding of when/how to follow up.
Feedback lets us know what’s working and what’s not, helping us stay on track for achieving our goals in helping students from all walks of life achieve independence.
Feedback lets us know what’s working and what’s not, helping us stay on track for achieving our goals in helping students from all walks of life achieve independence.
Process Group
Our process group at STRiV gives our students a place to process their thoughts and emotions in a therapeutic setting, led by a program therapist. This program is typically unstructured, allowing group members to discuss various topics, emotions, and concerns brought to the group by participants. Members provide mutual support and feedback, which helps form interpersonal interactions with others.
This is especially helpful for students in our life skills program, as students can share wisdom, understanding, and advice with each other as they learn and grow.
This is especially helpful for students in our life skills program, as students can share wisdom, understanding, and advice with each other as they learn and grow.
The Art of Social Connection
Our Art of Social Connection program takes a community-based approach to supporting students in developing social skills. This is done by incorporating other group members from the community who experience similar challenges to social interaction as the program students.
Our program therapist leads participants through exercises, activities, and conversations designed to help members improve their confidence and develop skills. Each week has a dedicated topic to help teach a social skill necessary for independent living.
Our program therapist leads participants through exercises, activities, and conversations designed to help members improve their confidence and develop skills. Each week has a dedicated topic to help teach a social skill necessary for independent living.
Mental Health Support Within Life Skills Programs
Supporting Mental Health and Wellness
Our life skills programs for young adults at STRiV Forward incorporate mental health and wellness as an important part of independent living. Students learn how to manage existing and future mental health conditions and/or neurodevelopmental disorders through our various therapies. Mindfulness techniques, stress tolerance, self-care, and healthy coping skills are considered essential for adult life.
Life Skills for Young Adults With ADHD or Autism
Our students with ADHD and/or autism learn essential skills that may seem easy to neurotypical people, such as time management, budgeting, cooking, and social interactions. However, these skills can be challenging and make it difficult for some students with neurodevelopmental disorders to feel confident.
As such, we work closely with our students with staff trained to assist students with a wide range of neurodiversity. This allows us to directly assist students with special needs, ensuring they have a safe place to practice and master essential skills.
As such, we work closely with our students with staff trained to assist students with a wide range of neurodiversity. This allows us to directly assist students with special needs, ensuring they have a safe place to practice and master essential skills.
What Sets STRiV Forward’s Life Skills Program Apart
Individualized Approach to Life Skills Training
STRiV Forward believes in providing an individualized approach to life skills training, as this gives the best outcomes for lasting independent success. To best provide personalized attention for each student, we have a 1:4 mentor-to-student ratio. Each student is assessed when enrolled, which allows us to identify areas of strength and weakness to better provide targeted assistance. This way, each student gets the personalized care and assistance that bigger programs aren’t able to give.
Structure With Flexibility
Each student will have a flexible daily schedule that provides and promotes structure. Days are structured based on each student’s personal needs and include time blocks for school, executive functioning coaching, mentoring, therapy, community involvement, recreation, and more. This is carefully designed to offer a balance between structured activities and downtime for students to rest or practice skills on their own.
Mentorship and Community
At STRiV Forward, we utilize mentors to help provide students with daily support with academics, errands, cleanliness, transportation, and social skills. This is a collaborative process, and students work with their mentors to establish goals and structure their day.
Community participation is important for students at STRiV, which gives them access to recreational events, local colleges, gyms, volunteer programs, and more. Weekend activities and community dinners are encouraged to help foster social connections and routine in our students. Access to our local community helps students experience opportunities for personal growth as they build skills for independence.
When Is a Life Skills Program the Right Fit?
A life skills program may be the right fit if your loved one is struggling to develop the skills needed for independent living. It may be further helpful for emerging adults with special needs who require additional guidance in navigating everyday challenges. At STRiV, students must be stable enough for semi-independent living and be motivated and ready to achieve their goals.
Knowing When Additional Support Can Help
If your loved one is struggling with or overwhelmed by feelings of stress, anxiety, frustration, or depression, it’s time to seek additional help. Although learning life skills should be challenging, they shouldn’t cause undue anguish or pain. Students with neurodevelopmental disorders and/or mental health conditions may need additional support through specialized care.
A Supportive Next Step
STRiV Forward is here to help emerging adults develop the skills needed for successful independence. We make the admissions process as stress-free as possible, and accept referrals from educational and mental health care professionals. Getting started is as easy as contacting us or giving us a call.
FAQs
What is a life skills program for young adults?
Our life skills program for young adults is designed to teach practical life skills to students with specific needs. We focus on teaching the skills needed for daily living, social interactions, and employment, which helps our students develop independence and integrate into their communities.
How does a life skills program support independent living?
Life skills programs support independent living by teaching students the essential skills they will need to manage their daily lives successfully. The goal is to empower our students to live independently and make healthy, informed decisions.
Is this program appropriate for young adults with ADHD or autism?
Yes, our life skills program at STRiV is specially tailored to help neurodivergent students develop the life skills necessary for independent living. We are fully equipped to help students with ADHD and/or mild autism spectrum disorder (ASD-1).
How long do life skills programs typically last?
The time needed to complete a life skills program will vary depending on individual needs. Some students may need more time than others, and that’s okay. The average length of stay for students at STRiV in our life skills program is 12 months.
What makes STRiV Forward’s life skills program different?
Factors that make STRiV Forward’s life skills program unique are:
- Small student-to-mentor ratios allow for individualized attention
- Fully furnished apartments with private rooms and bathrooms
- Connections to a large, mental-health-positive local community
- Small, highly personalized program focused on long-term growth
- No strict curfews or restrictions on technology (unless restrictions are needed)
- Access to knowledgeable and expert executive function coaches and mentors
- Structured days leaving time for school, executive functioning coaching, community involvement, and recreation
These traits set us apart as not just a place for students to learn life skills, but also as a place for students to discover who they are.