A Life Skills Center Provides Monte Vista Youth with Essential Living Skills

Monte Vista and the San Luis Valley lack a safe space where neurodiverse children (children with differences in brain functioning such as autism, dyslexia, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) can learn and practice important life skills. That’s an issue for the valley’s children and their families, but also for therapists and teachers who want to give their clients hands-on experience with tasks like washing dishes, doing laundry, and brushing teeth. One Monte Vista pediatrician was passionate in her belief that all neurodiverse children should have the opportunity to learn practical skills. She reached out to LOR with an idea: create a local life skills center. LOR’s funding will help Children’s Specialty Clinic of the San Luis Valley hire contractors, including engineers, electricians, and plumbers, to remodel the clinic and create the the valley’s first supervised community learning space for children with complex behavior and medical needs. The new facility will ensure that all Monte Vista youth have the opportunity to live with independence and dignity.