Elevatus Training • Curriculum
Have you witnessed employees losing their jobs not because they could not do the work, but because of how they interacted with their co-workers and customers?
Workplace relationships have their own rules — different from friendship, different from family — and people with I/DD need to be taught them directly, the same way they are taught any other job skill.
That is what this curriculum does. Co-created with Project SEARCH, it includes 12 scripted lessons that give participants the knowledge and skills needed to interact professionally with co-workers, customers, and supervisors.
- Evidence-informed
- Trauma-informed
- Cognitively accessible
- 12 scripted lessons
- Interactive lesson plans
- Instructor’s guide
- Spiral-bound
- 26 handouts
- Optional slide deck
Why This Curriculum?
Doing the work is only part of keeping a job.
Knowing when to say hello, how long to chat, and who to ask before dating a co-worker. These unwritten rules often decide whether a job lasts.
What does the curriculum cover?
12 lessons — one class period each.
Each lesson runs about 60 minutes. You can teach them in order, or pick the topics that fit your group and add more as you go.
Skills that keep jobs. Participants practice the unwritten rules of work, such as greetings, small talk, boundaries, and handling harassment, through role-plays and skits.
Co-teaching is built in. Lead a class yourself, or co-teach with a person with a disability. The instructor manual shows you how. Written for groups and easy to adapt for one-on-one.
Who Created the Curriculum?
Written by a national expert, built with Project SEARCH
Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed., is an AASECT-Certified Sexuality Educator with more than 30 years of experience and the founder of Elevatus Training.
She developed this curriculum with Project SEARCH, with input and guidance from self-advocates and experts in relationship and sexuality education and in competitive, integrated employment.
Who is the curriculum designed for?
Fully Scripted Lessons
You get the exact words to say
Every lesson is written in a Say/Do format, so you can teach with confidence even if you have never taught this topic before.
Say
“Some places have the 10-5 rule: At 10 feet away, you smile and nod, at 5 feet away, you give a simple greeting.”
Say
“A good rule for interacting with co-workers is to ask two questions and when they ask you a question, answer in 1-2 sentences.”
Do
Activity Three: Practice Being Friendly (15 minutes)
Download a full sample lesson and handout, or look through both tables of contents.
What People Are Saying
Well-written, targeted teaching
“I find the curriculum to be well-written and geared for the population we serve. Many individuals struggle with finding the balance for creating and maintaining healthy, positive relationships. The curriculum addresses the issues our young adults may encounter in a straightforward, easy-to-share manner. The manual prepares one to take on tough topics in an open, non-judgmental manner.”
Margo Greene — Project SEARCH Instructor
What is Included — Everything, in one Purchase
Every lesson comes ready to teach
Everything you need is in one spiral-bound book
Scripted lesson plans
DO and SAY cues tell you what to do and what to say, including how to model inclusive language.
Handouts and teaching tools
26 handouts, plus photo-based activities you can copy and laminate. Digital handouts are available on request.
Pre/post test
20 questions, given before and after the class, with options like large print and read-aloud. Codes replace names to keep answers private.
Instructor manual
How to work with families and worksites, handle challenges in class, and co-teach with a person with a disability.
What People Are Saying
Makes hard conversations easier
“I think this is great, and I especially like the ease of having hard conversations with this age group. The language level was very much on point for the bulk of students that we teach in Project SEARCH. I like that it has tangible picture-based activities that we can produce and laminate for continued use.”
Cathe Hoskins, MS — Project SEARCH Coordinator/Instructor
Choose your format
Start with just the curriculum, or add the ready-to-use slide deck
Both options include the spiral-bound, 12-lesson curriculum. The bundle adds presentation-ready slides for in-person or online teaching.
Curriculum Only
$195
One-time Purchase
Course Includes
- 🧾 Pay by card, check, or PO (purchase order)
Curriculum + Slide Deck
$290
One-time Purchase • Includes Slide Deck for Each Lesson
Course Includes
- Already have the curriculum? Buy the Slide Deck.
Pay your way. Order online by card, or pay by check or purchase order.
Shipping. $16 within US, $35 outside US. It typically arrives in 5 to 10 days.
Ordering for a team? Contact us about quantity discounts.
Ready to get started?
Give people the words for the workplace
Twelve ready-to-teach lessons that help people with I/DD build healthy relationships at work and keep the jobs they have earned.
Would you rather have Elevatus train your staff? See private training for organizations.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
This curriculum is designed to teach people with intellectual and developmental disabilities how to build healthy relationships in the workplace.
It is designed for instructors, job coaches, Employment First staff, or anyone who is part of a competitive, integrated employment program. It can also be team-taught, with an instructor and a person with a developmental disability as the instructors.
Topics include public and private settings, different types of relationships, decision-making and communication skills, healthy boundaries at work, and more.
Since many people don’t feel like experts in teaching relationship education, this curriculum tells you exactly what to say to get you started. It also helps if you include people with disabilities as teachers. But really, everyone needs a little help when teaching this topic.
One of the hardest parts of teaching any topic is finding good tools to make your teaching more effective. All the tools needed for the activities are included, so you do not have to look any further. Many of the tools are photos to aid you in teaching, as well as handouts to share the content. There is also an optional slide deck (purchase separately) for in-person or online teaching.
Please see this side-by-side comparison (PDF) that shows the differences between this curriculum and our curriculum, Sexuality Education for People with Developmental Disabilities.
The manual topics are the role of a relationship instructor, working with worksites and parents, challenges in teaching, and how to overcome them.
We ship the curriculum via ground service for a charge of $16 per curriculum if shipped within the US and $35 per curriculum if shipped outside the US.
The curriculum is a physical spiral-bound book that will be shipped to you after payment or a purchase order is received. It typically takes 5-10 days to arrive.
Yes, if your agency or organization requires this type of purchase, it is a payment option.