A program developed by a private school for learning disabled/severely emotionally disturbed students focuses on developing community-based adult skills. The program features an assessment process geared to acquainting the students with their own types of disabilities and appropriate compensating strategies; direct instruction on goals identified by the student, parent(s), and referring counselor; an emphasis on the problem solving, language, and questioning behaviors in vocational and social settings; career counseling; use of real-life materials where possible; a focus on functional skills; and graduation tied to accomplishment of the student's individual goals. Appended materials include a sample progress report, a comparison of academic and aptitude scores, an example of a weekly schedule, and a bibliography of materials used in the program. (CL)