The Point/Arc gives real-world lessons to students with disabilities

You can learn a lot from a simple bag of chips.

That’s the whole idea behind the Point/Arc’s Snack Shop.

The Point/Arc was founded in 1972 by a group of parents searching for educational and vocational help for their children, who had intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Decades later, it has expanded to two corners of Pike Street in Covington and succeeds through teaching hands-on skills to teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

This year’s lesson? The Snack Shop. A simple premise: pre-vocational high school students spend one day a week taking orders, taking inventory and taking snacks to Point employees.

“They’re learning what it takes to create a business,” explains Katie Lanham, transition coordinator at the Point/Arc. She knows the lessons her students are learning go far beyond delivering a mid-day pick-me-up.

“We collect and interpret data, make graphs. We go through and take inventory, talk about cost. We figure out how we’re going to buy it and what to do if we run out.”

Filling a gap in Northern Kentucky

Finding jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can be difficult, so the Point/Arc creates them. It runs a commercial cleaning company, a laundry service, an embroidery and screen printing business, as well as a coffee shop, Point Perk. Each is staffed by people with disabilities.

The Snack Shop is the latest venture.

Students apply and interview for jobs in three categories: bankers, customer service and production. Each provides its own opportunity for problem solving and working together. The goal is that the sophomore and juniors who staff and run the shop will gain job and interpersonal skills that can’t be simulated in a classroom – and will help them in the real world.

“Great customer service, how to act professionally in the workplace, how to interact appropriately,” Lanham explains. “They’re building self-confidence and building the skills they need to be successful at work.”

Giving students with disabilities more than just hands-on job experience

Soft skills are part of the curriculum, too. Soon, Lanham’s students will learn more about interview tips, resume writing and communication.

“Many don’t connect the dots,” Lanham says. “They’re told you can’t wear gym shoes to an interview. They’re never told why. In class we do a lot of visuals, a lot of videos.”