Using Community Based Instruction to Teach Functional Life Skills to Students with Intellectual Disabilities

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Using Community Based Instruction to Teach
Functional Life Skills to Students with
Intellectual Disabilities

• By Jayne Redelman
• EDSE 536

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Definition

• Life skills are the skills necessary for
  successful living. A functional life skills
  curriculum needs to include instruction in the
  following areas recreation / leisure
  maintaining a home / personal care and
  participation in the community. Mastery of a
  skill is when a student can perform skill in a
  variety of places for a variety of people.

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Why Teach Life Skills

• Students with intellectual disabilities require
  more specific, intensive, and repetitive teaching
  of skills needed for a fulfilling life. For
  learners with moderate and severe disabilities,
  instruction of specific skills should average
  between 30 sessions, over approximately 4 months
  while generally fewer sessions are required for
  students with mild cognitive disabilities.
  Students will use these skills whether living at
  home, living in a group home, or living
  independently.

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Community Based Instruction

• Teaching life skills starts in the home with the
  parents. Therefore communication with the
  parents is vital in the teaching of life skills.
  CBI includes instruction in the home, classroom,
  school, and the community. Teachers need to
  include the parents in all aspects of instruction
  so skills learned can be generalized into other
  areas of the students life.

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Shopping
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Definition

• Shopping includes purchasing items in grocery
  stores, department stores, specialty stores, fast
  food places, and restaurants. It requires the
  student to locate an item and purchase an item.

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Skills Needed

• Communication ask for assistance, conversation
  w/ cashier
• Social Skills waiting in line, staying in your
  space
• Physical Skills pushing a cart, getting money
  out, locating items, putting money in machines
• Academic matching, write shopping lists,
  following directions, reading a map, keying in
  pin number counting coins/bills, rounding up,
  estimation, change, tax

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School Activities

• Breakfast/Lunch- selecting items, keying in
  number (use template in class to teach number
  routine), communication, waiting in line
• Vending machines-counting coins, putting money in
• Writing lists, drawing maps, locating items

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Community Activities

• Grocery Stores- reading lists, locating items,
  estimation of prices, counting out money,
  communication w/ cashier, adding tax, purchase
  items needed in home or classroom, generic vs.
  brand name items
• Restaurants- ordering, counting money, adding tax
  tip, eating in public
• Banks- learn about money, checking accounts, ATMs

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Home Activities

• Have parents write or send in items used at home
  so students can match items
• Ask parents what stores or restaurants they
  frequent
• Encourage parents to allow student to purchase
  items in store as part of weekly shopping trips
• Encourage parents to have children order meals in
  restaurants

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Cooking
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Definition

• Cooking is a skill which involves making healthy
  meals. These meals include breakfast, lunch,
  dinner, snacks. Foods are either raw or cooked
  and need to include items from all the basic food
  groups.

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Skills Needed

• Communication- asking for help, making choices
• Social Skills- handling frustration
• Physical Skills- using utensils, pouring,
  stirring, mixing, using the microwave or oven,
  cleaning up prior to after cooking
• Academic- matching, measuring, reading
  following directions, telling time

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School Activities

• Plan meals
• Make lunch snack in the classroom
• Cook meals in the microwave
• Cook meals in Home Ec ovens
• Make sell food items (cookies, coffee, meals)
  to staff
• Make refreshments for staff or parents
  (Conference night)
• Make compare generic / brand name foods

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Community Activities

• Purchase foods at grocery store (practice skills
  used for shopping)
• Visit a farm, restaurant, bakery to find out how
  foods are grown / made
• Plan, prepare, have a picnic at school or park

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Home Activities

• Help plan meals
• Students make their own meals / snacks (cereal,
  sandwich, microwave foods)
• Student plans prepares weekly meal
• Students assist with grocery shopping
• Students assist with putting food away, setting
  clearing table, washing drying dishes

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Housekeeping
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Definition

• Housekeeping includes laundry (sorting, washing,
  drying, folding), dusting, vacuuming, sweeping,
  washing drying dishes, cleaning bathroom,
  making beds. How to manage a household budget is
  also an important skill.

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Skills Needed

• Communication- asking for help
• Social Skills- working with others
• Physical Skills-using a broom, wiping an area,
  folding, washing dishes, hanging up clothes,
  making a bed
• Academic- sorting, measuring detergent, managing
  a budget

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School Activities

• Wipe tables in room or cafeteria
• Sweep room (use free standing dust pan)
• Wash dishes after cooking
• Have students do the laundry for school sports
  team

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Community Activities

• Visit the following sites to see how housekeeping
  skills can become vocational skills- store
  (straightening dusting shelves), hotel,
  restaurant

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Home Activities

• Have students assist with housekeeping duties
• Have students do their own laundry (use color
  coded baskets to separate laundry)
• Have students responsible for different chores
  around the house

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Leisure Skills
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Definition

• Leisure skills include indoor / outdoor
  activities and individual / group activities.
  Television, computer, and video games should be
  allowed in moderation. However, students should
  be taught how to operate a computer. Leisure
  activities provide for social interaction and
  exercise for our students.

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Skills Needed

• Communication- express needs wants, making
  choices
• Social Skills- interacting with others, sharing,
  turn-taking, knowing the rules of a game
• Physical Skills- running, catching, throwing,
  rolling, fine motor skills
• Academic- matching, keeping score

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School Activities

• Card games (use an automatic shuffler card
  holder)
• Games- make sure age appropriate and allow enough
  time to complete game
• Computer- teach how to turn on off, navigate
  the internet
• Start a Special Olympics team

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Community Activities

• Take a trip to the park, play frisbee
• Bowling, movie theatre, YMCA-swimming
• Special Olympics (join with another school to
  create a team)
• Video Arcade, Fun Land, Kings Dominion

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Home Activities

• Encourage parents to become involved in Special
  Olympics, Challenger Baseball, church activities,
  play groups
• Weekly family games night
• Camp outs with family
• Family get-togethers

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Vocational
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Definition

• Vocational Skills include those skills needed to
  secure employment. While hard skills (job
  requirements) are important in getting a job,
  soft skills (communication social skills) are
  needed to keep a job.

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Skills Needed

• Communication- looking at people, talking with
  peers superiors, asking for help, accepting
  criticism
• Social Skills- eating restroom etiquette, break
  time interactions, interactions with peers
• Physical Skills- able to complete job tasks
• Academic- Read follow a schedule, read follow
  directions, counting money making change

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School Activities

• Explore various jobs to find students likes
  dislikes and areas of skills
• Set up classroom like a job site- pay students
  for work completed
• Teach students to follow a schedule
• Teach students how to communicate with superiors
• Use Social Story to teach soft skills
• Set up job situations with students making
  selling items to staff

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Community Activities

• Visit various job sites to explore jobs, what
  skills are needed at jobs, learn practice
  skills
• Examples- garden/nursery, department store,
  restaurant, office, grocery store, bakery,
  hospital

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Home Activities

• Encourage parents to contact Department of
  Rehabilitation Services (DRS) Community
  Services Board (CSB) to set up case management
• Encourage parents to network with family
  friends to find job opportunities
• Encourage students to volunteer in the community

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Preparation

• Talk to cafeteria workers, custodians, office
  staff, store employees before after students
  interact with them, so they know what specific
  skill you are working on how well the student
  accomplished goal.
• Know how much money the student has to spend
• Be familiar with store layout
• Be prepared to stop other shoppers from helping
  students

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• Discuss future goals with parents (job, living
  situations)
• Discuss w/ parents places they frequent teach
  skills needed to be successful in those
  environments
• Be structured, but flexible during lessons
• Have sensory materials with you on CBI trips
• Keep data on skills learned mastered

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Special Concerns

• Make sure enough time is allowed to accomplish
  goal, but not a lot of down time.
• Make sure you have enough staff for proper
  supervision
• Make sure areas are not crowded
• Write read social stories before trips so
  students know what to expect
• Make sure students know schedule of events (use a
  visual schedule)
• Teach skills so that students can perform them by
  themselves

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• Use the back of a spoon for spreading instead of
  a knife
• Use color coding for cooking (measuring
  ingredients, microwave, oven, stovetop cooking)
  
• Use pre-measured dishwasher laundry detergent
• No Money?- check with administration walk to
  community site, split CBI trips w/ another class
  or school, split trip/staff/students go to
  several sites
• Students on the Autism Spectrum may take up to 5
  years to fully integrate a new routine

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Agencies

• Rappahannock Community Services Board (CSB)
  http//www.racsb.state.va.us/
• Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) (540)
  899-4161
• Rappahannock Goodwill Industries [phone]
• The Arc of Rappahannock, Inc. [phone]
  http//arc.communitypoint.org/
• disAbility Resource Center [phone]
• Special Olympics-Area 11 http//www.area11sova.org
  /
• Autism Support Group of Fredericksburg
  http//www.autismsgfred.info/
• Local Parent Resource Center / Special Education
  Advisory Committee

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Resources

• Attainment Company http//www.attainmentcompany.co
  m/
• PCI Education http//www.pcieducation.com/
• Touch Math http//www.touchmath.com/
• Abilitations http//www.abilitations.com/
• Remedia Publications http//www.rempub.com/
• National Secondary Transition TechnicalAssistance
  Center http//www.nsttac.org/
• Lesson plans http//edhelper.com/
  http//www.moneyinstructor.com/lifeskills.asp