Top 10 Activities to Promote Independent Life Skills in Autism
Top 10 Activities to Promote Independent Life Skills in Autism
What are life skills?
Life skills are the basic daily living skills. These include self-care activities, cooking, shopping, budgeting, organizing, and transportation. Life skills are learned over time. When we introduce life skills at a very young age, it helps children become more independent as they transition into adolescence and adulthood. It is important to remember at this stage that learning life skills does not happen overnight, but it takes time & practice.
So how do we teach life skills?
Life skills can be taught and practiced at home, in schools, and also within the community. Autistics learn these skills with instructions, schedules checklists, and more which help them to become more independent. Following are some activities that can be done at home to promote independence in Autism.
1. Customize Your Teaching Strategy / Checklists
Every person is different, and people on the autism spectrum are no exception. The kinds of skills that you should concentrate on to help your child become independent will rely on their own requirements and abilities as well as your own and their own ambitions. Make sure to tailor your teaching strategy to the needs of each unique student.
When working with life skills in Autism, it’s not one or two skills but there are a lot of these skills that a child may be required to use on a daily basis. You can simplify these skills by organizing them in a ‘To do list’. So how does this help? Many children with Autism find it easy to perform a task when it is simplified and organized. This is exactly what a ‘To do list’ does. You can make a ‘Morning To-do list’, ‘School To-do list’ etc. All these lists depend on what skills you are trying to achieve independence in. So, as the child finishes a task, they can check off that task and move on to the next one.
It is important to note that some children will need these lists until they gain independence in those tasks while others may require it to be independent.
2. The Natural vs. Structured Method
You can use a more natural and flexible method, a more organized and formal approach, or a combination of both to teach independent living skills to a kid with autism. Having your child practice vocally describing to you how to make a snack (such a peanut butter and jelly sandwich) or sequencing the processes when you give him pictures or phrases that reflect the steps is an example of teaching a skill to them in an organized manner. During snack time, have your youngster make the sandwich as part of a natural teaching method.
3. Use Visual Supports
Teaching new abilities to children with autism can be greatly aided by the use of visual aides. They can offer the youngster visual cues or support to help them complete particular tasks more successfully and independently. These consist of items such as image schedules, checklists, calendars, color-coding schemes, charts, lists, and token boards.
4. Evaluating the Present Skills of Your Child
It is beneficial to evaluate your child’s present proficiency in particular areas. Keep an eye on your child and record the things they succeed at and the things they find difficult. Alternatively, consider a certain talent and determine which aspect of it your child needs more assistance with. Additionally, you can think about having your child undergo a formal evaluation by a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), who can determine what areas your child needs to improve on and assess their present functional level.
5. Additional Resources to Assist Your Child
Technology use can also assist your youngster in developing their ability to live independently. If they have a smartphone, for instance, you could teach them how to use the calendar feature or help them set alarms to remind them to accomplish specific activities.
6. Forming Schedules/ Routines
Routines or schedules are a set of activities that you do on a regular basis. And this is very important as practicing these skills will help in achieving independence. When you include these Life skills in Autism as a part of a routine such as ‘Brushing’ as a part of a daily morning routine. Your child then understands that it needs to be done before the next task. Initially, you will have to make, monitor & help your child transition from one activity to the next. As you keep helping your child with these activities, they will get better and better at it.
7. Always practice, always practice
Gaining independence is a difficult goal for everyone to pursue. For most people, even those without disabilities, self-care, daily living, and other critical skills that allow independent life are highly practice-dependent. Recognize that it will take time for your child to become independent and offer encouragement and support.
It’s also advised that you provide your youngster with multiple opportunities to practice the skills you’re concentrating on. If your child is learning how to count and handle money, for example, you can practice this skill with pretend money during playtime or you may set up a “store” at home where your child can earn money to spend on products. Don’t forget to provide your kids with genuine chances to practice this in the community.
8. Giving clear & precise Instructions
As you go about these skills, you will realize that there are a lot of them. It can be overwhelming for children to follow these in Autism or even complete an entire activity. In this instance, what you can do is, you can give them clear & precise instruction. For example, if the activity is ‘Brushing’. You can give the instruction as “Take the toothbrush”. “Hold it in your hand”. “Take the toothpaste”. “Open the cap”, “Squeeze the toothpaste” etc. So these are examples of sequential instructions that you can give one by one as your child completes them. These instructions can be verbal or even accompanied by visuals (depending on your child’s preferences).
9. Reading Social Stories
Often, you would have experienced that it is not an easy task to implement a routine or complete the complete instructions. Every autistic child has different requirements and even different ways in which they learn. Reading social stories to them regarding the tasks that they have to complete may help. When you read a social story, the child also understands why this targeted skill is important for him to do. For example, a child does not want to brush his teeth in the morning. In this situation, it can become a bit tricky to use only a routine or a to-do list. Try reading a social story on brushing and then you can tell the child. “You will receive a reward at the end of the day for completing the activities” Then give the clear instruction to your child one by one and complete the task. All done!!!
Some social stories that you can use at home
10. Generalization of the learned Skill
Your child has finally learned how to wash his hands with minimal instruction at home. Now what? Kudos to you!! Your child is now achieving independence with their life skills in Autism. But would your child be able to use that learned skill elsewhere? Such as a school, museum, or public place? Maybe or maybe not. What you can do is, try to use these skills in different situations. Especially those that your child frequently visits. For some it’s the school, for some it’s the daycare, etc. You can also notify other people around your child such as family members, caretakers and get them involved in your child’s journey to independence.
Developing these life skills is not a one-day task. It may not always be easy, but it can be achievable. As mentioned earlier, it is an ongoing process. You will require the help of highly trained specialists along your child’s journey. To know more, consult with us today!!
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