10 Tips When Teaching Children Self Help Skills

Here are 10 tips to help teach children to be independent with self help skills and everyday routines:

1.  Make sure you have time to give the child your undivided attention when you are first teaching a new skill or routine.  Likewise, make sure that the child is paying attention when learning the skill.  Minimize distractions and create a quiet environment at first.

2.  Break down the skill into simple steps.  Give specific directions on how to complete each step.  For example with washing hands break the skill into several steps: wet hands, put soap on hands, rub hands together and wash for 20-30 seconds, rinse hands, dry hands and turn off water.

3.  To help the child understand the self help skill provide visual images or photographs for each step.  When each step is completed the child can move on to the next picture.  See below.

4.  Demonstrate each step as you move through the sequence.  Check if the child understands fully before you move to the next step.

5.  Try to use the same wording on each step by step direction for consistency. As the child becomes more independant, reduce the verbal cues until they can be discontinued completely.

6.  Encourage and praise the child for each step that is accomplished.  If a child is unable to complete a step you can help with that one step.  Always work to slowly fade away your assistance.

7.  If able, offer a choice during the to help the child feel more independent.  For the handwashing example, offer two different kinds of soap to choose.  For dressing skills, let the child pick out his/her clothes.

8.  Offer some positive reinforcement.  For example, if you complete a certain number of steps then you will be able to choose a book to read, play with a toy for special toy for a few minutes, etc.

9.  Be patient.   Take your time completing the routine or skill.  Provide extra time to complete the skill.

10.  Celebrate!  When a child is consistently independent with a new skill or routine celebrate the success.  Give the child a reward.  Check out these 30 free or low cost rewards.  

Need visual picture images when teaching dressing skills?  Check out this popular packet - Dressing Skills: Step by Step Visual Directions to Teach Children How to Dress.  Find out more here http://www.yourtherapysource.com/dressing.html 

Self Care Skills - Predictor of Employment Success for Individuals with Autism

Recent research studied survey responses, interviews and basic self care assessments of basic daily tasks, such as bathing, brushing their teeth, cleaning and preparing meals, of 81 adults with moderate to severe autism.

The results indicated the following:

1.  only 45% were employed.

2.  after taking into account symptom severity and communication ability, having good self-care skills was the most important independent predictor of adult job success.

3.  the adults with autism with better self-care abilities were more likely to keep a job and more likely to work more hours, and to rely on employment support services less often.

4.  better adult job prospects were available for those who displayed better self-care abilities when they were children.

The researchers recommend a focus on teaching those with autism the practical skills of day-to-day living.

The researchers, Laura Klinger, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and executive director of the TEACCH Autism Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and her colleagues, will present at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Salt Lake City.

Reference:  Medline Plus.  Learning Daily Skills Prepares Kids With Autism for Adult Life. Retrieved from the web on 5/19/15 at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_152547.html

 

The Life Skills Checklists help track progress towards routine life skills needed to succeed in the school, home and community.  Find out more at http://www.yourtherapysource.com/lifeskillchecklists.html

Visual Perceptual Skills and ADLs for Children with Cerebral Palsy

The Journal of Physical Therapy Science published research on the effects of a visual perceptual intervention on visual-motor integration and activities of daily living performance of 56 children with cerebral palsy.  Each children with cerebral palsy participated in a visual perceptual intervention for 8 weeks, 3 times a week, for 30 minutes per session.  The intervention program consisted of 48 items such as visual-motor coordination, figure-ground perception, perceptual constancy and position in space and spatial relationship.  All children were assessed before the intervention and after using the VMI and WeeFIM to evaluate visual motor integration and activities of daily living skills.

The results indicated the following:

1.  all children significantly improved their scores on the VMI and WeeFIM.

2.  there were progressive increases in WeeFIM subscores of self-care, mobility, communication and social cognition.

The authors concluded that the visual perceptual intervention had a positive influence on the visual-motor integration and activities of daily living performance of children with cerebral palsy.

Reference: Cho, M., Kim, D., & Yang, Y. (2015). Effects of visual perceptual intervention on visual-motor integration and activities of daily living performance of children with cerebral palsy. Journal of physical therapy science, 27(2), 411.

 

 Patterns, Patterns, Patterns is a collection of over 50 visual perceptual activities involving patterns.   Children will be challenged to draw the patterns and find shapes, numbers or objects in a pattern.  Find out more at http://yourtherapysource.com/patterns.html

Occupational Therapy Improved Everyday Tasks in Children with Autism

The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders published research on the effects of occupational therapy with a sensory integration approach or behavioral therapy on the ability to complete everyday tasks in children with autism.  In a randomized study, 32 children (ages 4-8), were assigned to an OT-SI group (occupational therapy sensory integration group) or a standard care group (behavioral therapy).  The OT-SI group received intervention for 3 hours per week for 10 weeks.  Following the interventions, investigators were blinded and assessed the children.

The results indicated the following:

• children in the OT-SI group scored significantly higher on Goal Attainments Scales then the standard care group
• children in the OT-SI group scored signficantly higher on measures of caregiver assistance in self care and socialization than the standard care group.

References:
Roseann C. Schaaf, Teal Benevides, Zoe Mailloux, Patricia Faller, Joanne Hunt, Elke Hooydonk, Regina Freeman, Benjamin Leiby, Jocelyn Sendecki, Donna Kelly. An Intervention for Sensory Difficulties in Children with Autism: A Randomized Trial. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s10803-013-1983-8

Thomas Jefferson University (2013, November 25). Making sense of sensation in autism. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2013/11/131125101011.htm

Better Motor Skills = Better Adaptive Behavior Skills in Children with Autism

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders published research on 233 children ages 14 to 49 months diagnosed with autism. The researchers examined the relationship of motor skills on the adaptive behavior composite, daily living, adaptive social and adaptive communicative skills while holding constant the age, non-verbal problem solving, and the severity of autism. The following results were recorded:

• Fine motor skills significantly predicted all adaptive behavior skills 
• Gross motor skills were predictive of daily living skills 
• Children with weaker motor skills displayed greater deficits in adaptive behavior skills

The researchers concluded that there is a need to implement early intervention and rehabilitation for young children with autism and motor skills.

Reference:  MacDonald, M et al. The relationship of motor skills and adaptive behavior skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Volume 7, Issue 11, November 2013, Pages 1383–1390

Developmental Trajectories of Daily Activities and Cerebral Palsy

Pediatrics has published research on the developmental trajectories of mobility performance and daily activities in 420 Dutch children (ages 1-16 years) and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP)and investigating the influence of gross motor function and intellectual disability on these trajectories. The children were followed yearly over a period of 2 to 4 years. Developmental trajectories were described for mobility performance and performance of daily activities, using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, the Gross Motor Function Classification System and IQ scores or school type of intellectual disability. The following results were recorded: 

• developmental trajectories of mobility performance differed according to levels of gross motor function but not levels of intellectual disability 
• performance of daily activities was affected by intellectual disability with lower overall trajectory levels for participants with intellectual disabilities 
• the children without intellectual disability exhibited high-level developmental trajectories with values similar to those of typically developing children even though differences in gross motor function level were present. 

 Reference: Rimke C. Vos et al. Developmental Trajectories of Daily Activities in Children and Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy. Pediatrics peds.2013-0499; published ahead of print September 9, 2013, doi:10.1542/peds.2013-0499

  

Title: Life Skills of the Month
By:  Your Therapy Source
Summary:  12 hand outs and posters to encourage practicing life skills
throughout the year provided in Word and pdf format.

Measures of ADLs for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology published a systematic review of activities of daily living measures for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. The following results were found: 

• 26 measures were identified and eight met inclusion criteria
• The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) had the strongest psychometric properties but was limited by its age range  (6 months to 7 years 6 months)
• The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) was the most comprehensive evaluation of underlying motor and cognitive abilities yet further psychometric testing is required for children with CP. 

The researchers concluded:

• the PEDI should be used to measure ADL capability in elementary school aged children 
• the AMPS is the best measure to evaluate ADL performance or capacity and is suitable for all age.

Reference: Sarah James, Jenny Ziviani and Roslyn Boyd. A systematic review of activities of daily living measures for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Article first published online: 12 AUG 2013 | DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.12226.  

Life Skills of the Month 

12 hand outs and posters to encourage practicing life skills throughout the year 

provided in Word and pdf format.

Find out more.

 

More Great FREE Resources from CanChild

If you are a therapist who works with children who have developmental coordination disorder, you should check out these new resources from CanChild.  They are providing free "Lunch and Learn" training packages for school based occupational therapists.  Basically, the pdf documents walk you through all the steps to create some in house professional development for your teachers on dressing skills, scissor skills, motor development and pre printing for the younger kids and motor development and printing for the older students.  It also includes wonderful, brief hand outs for teachers and parents.  Thanks CanChild!  You can download the pdf documents here. 

Shaving and Autism

I came across this video from RealLookAutism that shows how a young man with autism is learning to tolerate shaving with the help of his occupational therapist and his mother.  This is such a wonderful video that really helps to explain how sensory techniques can help some individuals to learn activities of daily living.  It also helps to demonstrate that certain skills can take a long time to learn but the goal is achievable.  The OT breaks the skill down, offers preparatory activities,  slowly introduces the shaving equipment followed by parent education helping this young man to be successful!

Survey for Self Care Skills

There is an OT, Kristin Roll, from Minnesota who is collecting information on a child's ability to complete self-care and home/community related skills in order to create a standardized test.  She hopes that this test will assist families in getting occupational therapy services covered for their children.  She is self funding this study. Here is some background information and the link for parents to complete the survey.

From Kristin Roll, MA OTR/L:

"I am a mother of two toddlers (Xavier and Carsten) and pediatric occupational therapist working at Capernaum Pediatrics, in New Hope, Minnesota. I have been working as an occupational therapist for the past 7 years and was frustrated with the lack of standardized tests that asses a child’s ability to complete self-care activities. I wanted to do something to help the children and the families that I work with so I started this research project. I am looking for caregivers of children ages 2-18 years old to take a one time online survey about their child’s ability to complete self-care and home/community related skills. Information from this project will be used to create a standardize test to help children with special needs qualify for therapy services and support covered by their insurance companies. I am an independent researcher funding this project on my own. I am using Kwik Survey a free online survey company for data collection. When you click on the link below, you will be taken to Kwik Survey. There you will see my consent form, demographic questions (to make sure I have a diverse sample), and then the self-care and home/community skills questionnaire. The questionnaire is multiple choice and no questions will identify you or your child to the data. Please feel free to make comments at the end of the survey. Your input is important to me. Thank you for your support! Please feel free to forward this information on to family and friends.

  http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-survey.php?surveyID=OMNEIG_2b36c5b8

Please let me know if you need any more information or have any other questions. I really appreciate your support!"

Tips for Daily Routines

The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention has published informative handouts on various daily routines to help parents of children who have emotional or behavioral disorders.

There are three hand outs on:
1. Naptime/ Bedtime
2. Running Errands
3. Diapering

Worth a look at TACSEI

Fine Motor Tips for Functional Skills

Found this video on You Tube. It is entitled Autism Survival Manual - Fine Motor Tips and Tricks. It is very visual with tips for activities of daily living such as using a screwdriver, pouring liquids, tying garbage bags, slicing veggies and more. Worth a look.

Free Download on Teaching Life Skills

Parents, teachers and therapists who instruct teens and young adults, may want to check out Ready, Set , Fly A Parents Guide to Teaching Life Skills. This electronic book was created with foster parents in mind in particular but it is very useful for all parents and therapists. The activities are graded using different levels based on age (activities are developed for children ages 8 years old and up). The book is divided into several chapters on topics such as Daily Living Skills, Housing, Transportation & Community Resources, Money Management, Self-Care, Social Development and Work & Study Skills. The book includes many simple ideas for parents to carry out at home. Great resource and FREE!!! You can find it at Ready, Set, Fly!
A Parent’s Guide To Teaching Life Skills (published by Casey Family Programs).

Get Kids Gardening

Here is a simple idea to start planning for next year for some of the children that you teach - Gardening! Getting into the garden encourages motor skills, sensory stimulation, self esteem, sense of accomplishment, discovery and outdoor time. If you have at least 15 children willing to participate and work with children ages 3-18 years old you could apply for the Subaru Healthy Sprouts Award. This is a grant for $500 in supplies and a kit and literature package from the National Garden Association filled with ideas. They would like the youth gardening program to focus on the environment, nutrition and hunger issues in the United States. What a great, functional activity to teach to children! The grant application is due by October 1, 2010. There are 30 awards available and if you win it will be distributed in January 2011.