The Alternative Center

The Alternative Center (TAC) describes itself as an integrated, community-based day program for adults with developmental disabilities and special needs. It was founded in 2008 by Carol Peifer, whose daughter has Down syndrome, and it focuses on encouraging each person's abilities, with an emphasis on security and dependability. Alongside the adult day program, TAC offers employment preparation, transportation, homemaker/personal care, advocacy and social opportunities. A grandparent reviewer says her granddaughter has attended for about two years and has blossomed, and describes caring staff and activities such as bowling, movies, walks in the park, community volunteering and out-of-town overnight trips.

Life skills teaching covers personal and oral hygiene, nutrition and meal preparation, exercise, home and weather safety, housekeeping, money management, online safety and banking, communication, reading and interpersonal skills, plus creativity, music therapy and cultural enrichment. For people who want to work, TAC offers help with resumes, mock interviews with local businesses and a six-week course on job skills, with an emphasis on work ethic and job retention. The center also lists transportation, Miracle League baseball and social opportunities among its services, and reviewers mention bowling, movies, park walks, volunteering and overnight trips.

The Alternative Center is at 1329 Cherry Way Dr #600, Columbus, OH 43230, where it moved in January 2024. Program hours are 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Call (614) 537-4664 or (614) 361-6025 to ask about enrollment, eligibility and a visit, or use the contact form on its website.