Stepping into our client’s life:
At 20 years old, Gail is a bright, warm, and socially capable young woman whose learning and daily functioning have long been impacted by significant anxiety, complicated grief, and attentional challenges. Although she has made meaningful progress in her vocational programs and social-emotional development, she continues to experience intense stress around math-based tasks, especially those involving real-world purchasing, budgeting, and money management.
Gail’s IEP identifies persistent difficulty with functional math skills, including counting coins, making change, estimating purchases, and completing money-related tasks with accuracy. These challenges are not simply academic—they trigger high anxiety, overwhelm, and avoidance in everyday settings such as grocery stores, cafés, and retail environments. Even simple purchases can become emotionally taxing, leading to shutdowns or missed opportunities for independence.
Her family and school district (CSE) were seeking a support model that could address both the academic skill gaps and the emotional barriers that make real-life math so difficult for her. They needed a service that could meet Gail where she is, honor her emotional needs, and help her build confidence in the community settings where these skills matter most.
How Coach-Mentors helped:
Coach-Mentors partnered with Gail’s family and school district to implement a targeted Academic Mentoring program, funded by the district and aligned directly with her IEP goals for functional math, independence, and anxiety management.
A Coach-Mentor was carefully matched to Gail based on experience with:
- Anxiety-informed academic coaching
- Functional math instruction for young adults
- Positive behavior supports and co-regulation
- Community-based learning and real-life skill practice
- Supporting students with grief-related emotional needs
Services were delivered three times per week, with sessions held at a local library and in the surrounding community. The Coach-Mentor focused on both academic skill development and real-world application, including:
- Creating predictable, low-pressure routines to reduce anxiety
- Teaching functional math skills using hands-on, real-life examples
- Practicing purchasing tasks in actual community settings (grocery stores, cafés, local shops)
- Rehearsing transactions before entering stores to build confidence
- Supporting Gail through moments of overwhelm with co-regulation and emotional coaching
- Reinforcing self-advocacy, problem-solving, and independence
- Collaborating closely with her CSE team, Project SEARCH staff, and family to ensure consistency
Rather than pushing Gail through stressful situations, the Coach-Mentor emphasized connection, emotional safety, and gradual exposure, allowing her to build competence at a pace that felt manageable.
Takeaway:
With individualized, relationship-driven support, Gail began to show meaningful progress in both her functional math skills and her emotional regulation during purchasing tasks. Over time, she became more comfortable entering stores, interacting with staff, estimating costs, and completing transactions with reduced anxiety.
Equally important, Gail’s family and school team gained confidence knowing she was receiving support that respected her emotional needs while helping her build the independence required for adulthood. Her Academic Mentoring program has become a bridge between her IEP goals, her real-life responsibilities, and her long-term transition plan.
Gail’s story demonstrates how academic mentoring can transform practical, anxiety-laden tasks into opportunities for growth, helping young adults build the confidence, competence, and emotional resilience needed to navigate everyday life.