Techniques to Help Teachers & Parents of Children With Autism With Daily Living Skills

Parents and teachers of children with autism know how challenging it can be to teach new skills. For a child with autism, learning new daily living skills can be every bit as daunting as mastering academic concepts or overcoming social barriers. Fortunately, there are a number of effective techniques to help teachers and parents assist children with autism in developing living skills.

  1. Prioritize Skills to Be Taught

    • The first and most important step should be prioritizing the skills to be taught. Decide which skills are most important. Use the child̵7;s age, developmental stage, maturity level, degree of readiness and daily living activities to determine which skills should be targeted immediately and which can be addressed at a later time. Create a list of high priority skills. Determine the order in which the skills should be taught. Initially, focus on teaching only the top priority skill.

    Consider How Children with Autism Learn

    • There are many ways to approach teaching daily living skills. The best teaching approaches will take into consideration the type of learner the child is. Children with autism tend to be visual learners who respond well to explicit teaching.

    Teach the Skill

    • First, show the child what the skill looks like when it is successfully executed. Flash cards, picture-based communication symbols and other visual systems can be used as teaching tools to show the child what the skill looks like. Use a series of pictures, a visual training system or a video to demonstrate the process of executing the skill from start to finish. Be sure to explain what is going on in the visuals and/or video using the child̵7;s preferred mode of communication. Stop frequently to check for understanding. This can be accomplished by asking the child to respond to questions if he is verbal. If he is nonverbal, he may point or use an assistive communication device to respond.

      Next, model the skill by performing it yourself. Be sure to explain what you are doing and why, and stop as often as necessary to check for understanding. Allow the child to demonstrate comprehension verbally, nonverbally or through the use of assistive devices.

      Finally, have the child practice the skill. Praise the child̵7;s efforts. Offer support and encouragement when necessary. Celebrate successes enthusiastically.

    Reinforce the Skill

    • Depending on how complex the skill is and how quickly the child learns, it may take some time for her to master new daily living skills. Be positive, patient and prepared to provide the child with plenty of opportunities for practice and repetition. Review the skill as necessary. Once the skill has been mastered, generalize it to different settings and situations. For example, once a child has mastered lacing sneakers, allow her to practice lacing other types of shoes.

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