As a Respite Mentor, Josh provides a dual-service: respite for the family and mentorship for the client. Generally, sessions are a couple hours long and during this time, Josh builds friendship with the client and helps them make achievable goals that they work on together. As a means to reaching these goals, Josh helps the client improve their skills in the following areas, as applicable:
- Financial management
- Conversation skills
- Employer relations
- Conflict resolution
- Friendship
- Hygiene
- Schoolwork
- Mental health
- Anger management
Josh started by taking the time to get to know my son and establishing a rapport. They discussed his goals, both short-term and long-term. Josh learned that my son gets overwhelmed easily, so Josh has helped him by breaking down the steps involved in meeting goals into small tasks. This way, my son does not get too frustrated and is able to see small wins along the way.
-Tracy, mother of client
So far, Josh has helped my son find, apply for, and obtain a full-time job with benefits. He is teaching him to budget his money and holding him accountable for the budget. He even met my son at the bank to open a savings account. They are now working on longer-term goals, and Josh is teaching him the tools needed to achieve these goals.
Agape's Hand Autism Services 