Daily Living Activities to Promote Independence for Children with Special Needs
During the old times, we often experience doing household chores especially if you grew up in a very traditional family. Before all these gadgets and high-tech equipment were invented, we have been practicing numerous ways on our daily living activities. From waking up, to making of bed, to showering, to wearing of uniform – these are all activities that we do daily by ourselves. All these activities or the so called “skills” help to support and promote independence.
True enough, these skills are quite easy to acquire through observation or modelling from our parents. However, for children in the spectrum, or for some children with special needs, this could be challenging.
Are we going to stop there? Definitely not! This is because everyone can learn; just not on the same pace or way. For people/children with autism, learning life skills is essential to increase independence at home, at school and in the community. By introducing these skills early and building block by block, people with autism gain the tools that will allow him or her to increase self esteem and lead to more happiness in all areas of life.
Parents and teachers should recognize that teaching children activities of daily living is just important as promoting the development of communication and cognitive skills. With this, we will be sharing simple ways on how parents and/or teachers can teach activities of daily living that can be done at home or in school.
- Washing of Hands
- This may be a very simple task, but this is vital on your child’s hygiene. Have a routine of washing of hands. You can make it more fun by integrating a song to it especially the younger kids.
- Putting Away Toys
- After playing toys, always let your child clean up. This is not just for the sake of cleaning, but it is also a good way to transit from one activity to another. This will also make them understand the concept of “finish” after every activity.
- Putting Dirty Clothes in the Hamper
- This simple daily life skill can also be helpful in identifying objects that are clean and dirty. Before doing so, you may have a short sorting game to explain the concept of clean and dirty. From there you can explain that once placed in that specific hamper, it means it’s time for it to be washed.
- Sorting of Laundry
- This is partly related to number 3. However, for this part, make sure that your child has the foundation of sorting concept. If not, you can start off with the previous number. This activity will help your children use problem solving skills to sort the clothes into different attributes. Start off with sorting of black and whites, and then add the colored clothes.
- Packing of school bag
- This activity will not only give the children the sense of independence but also sense of responsibility on their belongings. This will help them to be more aware of what belongs to them, and which doesn’t.
These are just some of the simple activities that we can do at home and in school to promote independence in our children.