You might not realize how many skills you employ regularly as you go through your daily lives.

This
could be because you may not have broken a sweat learning how to do simple everyday tasks such as
eating, dressing yourself, or maintaining your personal hygiene. But for children with special needs,
these life skills may be harder to master due to their cognitive or developmental disabilities. So, their
education should include instructions targeted at teaching valuable life skills for special needs
children.

Life skills-based education (LSBE) is a form of education that focuses on cultivating

personal life skills such as self-reflection, critical thinking, problem solving and interpersonal
skills.
In 1986, the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion recognized life skills in terms of making better
health choices. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) linked life skills to
education [citation needed] by stating that education should be directed towards the development of the
child’s fullest potential. The 1990 Jomtien Declaration on Education for All took this vision further
and included life skills among essential learning tools for survival, capacity development and
quality of life. The 2000 Dakar World Education Conference took a position that all young people
and adults have the human right to benefit from "an education that includes learning to know, to
do, to live together and to be", and included life skills in two out of the six EFA Goals.
Life skills-based education is now recognized as a methodology to address a variety of issues of
child and youth development and thematic responses including as expressed in UNGASS on
HIV/AIDS (2001), UNGASS on Children (2002), World Youth Report (2003), World Program for
Human Rights Education (2004), UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2005),
UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children (2006), 51st Commission on the
Status of Women (2007), and the World Development Report (2007).

As you go about your daily activities, you may not be aware of the numerous skills you
constantly apply. This might be the case because learning how to carry out routine
activities like eating, dressing, or keeping your basic hygiene may have required little
effort on your part.

However, children with special needs may find it more difficult to learn these basic skills
due to their cognitive or developmental difficulties. Therefore, their curriculum should
include lessons designed to teach important life skills. So, let’s look at the various
essential life skills you should teach your child with special needs.

Life Skills
A parent is the first teacher a child will have. We may start out by trying to
teach them how to say “mama” or “dada”, or to identify when they want
something. Later, we encourage them to crawl, walk, run, use
the bathroom, use a fork and knife, bathe, ride a bicycle, brush their hair,
get dressed, and other basic life skills. As they progress through the years,
other essential life skills come into play. For a parent of a child with special
needs, some of these skills may never be a reality. However, with patience,
preparation, and perseverance, you may find that your child can learn life
skills that you didn’t think possible.
Today, many parents often feel as though they are fighting an uphill battle
just trying to teach their children everything they need to know before they
leave home for college. So many times, actions are left untaught because
the subject has never arisen. Learning how to pay a bill, book a flight or
hotel, completing a W4 tax form, or applying for a credit card may seem
monumental when the child has never undertaken that responsibility. For a
child with special needs, many of the smaller tasks we take for granted
reach that monumental status. No parent can ever anticipate everything his
or her child will need to learn before heading out into the world (or even to
nursery school for that matter). That is why a parent’s job as teacher never
ends–no matter what our children might think.

Adaptive Living Skills vs. Life Skills: What Is the

Difference?
You may hear the terms adaptive living skills (ADL’s) and life skills and not
know the difference. ADL’s are the first skills most people teach their
children and include activities such as:

 Using the bathroom

 Taking a bath or shower
 Washing hands before eating
 Making a bed
 Putting on clothes
 Tying shoelaces
 Brushing or combing hair
 Using a fork, spoon, and knife
 Brushing teeth
Children often learn these skills through a combination of imitating their
parents, basic instruction, encouragement, and, yes, mistakes. A child with
special needs may have a harder time learning some of these skills.
Developmental delays can render the “typical” timeline useless. Your child
may not be able to develop imitation skills in the same way, or at all.
Instead, you will have to learn to take your cues from your child as to what
he or she is ready to learn.

Why Teaching Life Skills to a Child with Special Needs

May be Challenging
Some children with special needs learn differently or at a slower pace than
their peers. Others may be physically unable to perform certain skills. Every
child is unique, and the approach to teaching life skills will require
personalization to the child’s capabilities.
Challenges a parent may face include:
 Slow or impaired physical development
 Difficulty in understanding or following directions
 Lack of awareness
 Easily frustrated or acting out when it does not work
 No desire to learn or accomplish tasks
 Cognitive or sensory challenges
 Lack of focus for extended times

How to Teach Life Skills to Your Child

Before you get started, please note that nothing happens overnight.
Learning anything and committing it to memory takes time, and practice –
for everyone.

Memory is a complex process requiring the work of multiple actions at one

time. Sensory input from the environment, whether through sight, sound,
touch, taste, or smell stimulates memory receptors in the brain. The brain
receives the sensory input, filters out what it deems unnecessary before
transferring the rest into short-term memory. Then, another filtration occurs
before committing to long-term memory.

Three practical strategies you can use to teach your child include:
 Teach by verbal instructions – explain in detail one step at a time
and have your child perform the task
 Teach by demonstrating – show your child how to complete a
task while explaining what you are doing then have the child do
the same
 Teach step by step – perform each step with your child one at a
time until the entire task is complete

Key points

 You can help children with disability learn new skills by telling,
showing, or teaching step by step.
 You can motivate children to learn by focusing on skills that
they’re capable of learning, that they want to learn and that
will benefit them.

Helping children with disability develop skills

This article takes you through 3 practical strategies for teaching skills to children
with disability:

 instructions: teaching by telling

 modelling: teaching by showing
 teaching step by step.

Teaching skills to children with disability is an important job, and getting support can help you
feel confident about it. The professionals who work with your child will probably have great
ideas and strategies for helping your child learn.

Choosing skills to teach to children with disability

If you choose appropriate skills to teach to your child, it can motivate your child,
build their confidence and make it more likely that they’ll learn successfully.

Appropriate skills are skills that your child:

 is physically and intellectually capable of learning

 wants to learn
 will benefit from – for example, skills that will help them be more
independent.

When you work out what skills to teach your child, you can choose the right strategy
to help them learn.

Your child is likely to learn more successfully if you focus on teaching only one thing at a time.
For example, a child with cerebral palsy might use a lot of physical and mental energy just to sit
upright in a chair, so it can be hard for them to learn anything else while sitting.

Instructions: teaching by telling

This is helping your child learn by explaining what to do or how to do it. This
strategy works best if you plan the learning before you start.

Before you start

 Think about how long your child can concentrate for and whether they can
do the task in that time.
 Make a simple plan of the task you want your child to learn. If the task
involves several parts, break down your instructions into a series of simple
steps.
 Think about how to explain exactly what you want your child to do. For
example, say, ‘Clean your teeth, and then get dressed for school’, rather than
‘Get ready for school’. Try starting with 1-2 specific instructions, and then add
more steps.
  If your child has trouble understanding words, you could use a poster or
pictures to explain what you want your child to do.

As you go

 Make sure you’ve got your child’s attention.

 If your child can make eye contact, encourage your child to look at you while
you speak.
 Use language that your child understands. Keep your sentences short and
simple, and keep checking that your child has understood.
 Tell your child exactly what you want them to do. For example, ‘Put your
clothes in the hamper’ is clearer than ‘Don’t leave your clothes on the floor’.
 Aim for a calm and positive tone of voice. Your child can be distracted if you
sound frustrated or upset.
 Allow plenty of time (up to one minute) for your child to respond, and then
give plenty of praise when your child follows your instruction. Say exactly
what your child did right.
 As your child learns, give fewer instructions and prompts, until you can phase
these out completely.

When instructions aren’t working

Children might not follow instructions for many reasons. For example, they might
not understand. They might need more opportunities to practise before they can do
what you’re asking them to do. They might be tired or distracted. Or they just might
not want to do what you’re asking.

You can try watching your child to work out why they’re not following an instruction
and whether you could change things to help them. For example, is it a practical
task that you could model for your child? Is it a complex task that needs to be
broken down into smaller steps? Or could you try again in a few days or at a
different time of day?

You can help your child learn successfully by reducing distractions and making sure that the
environment is set up for your child to learn. It’s also important to keep an eye out for when your
child is losing interest or getting tired.

Modelling: teaching by showing

Teaching your child by showing them what to do is called modelling. For example,
you’re more likely to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’ your child how to pack toys away, wash
up a cup or feed a pet.

You can also use modelling to help your child learn how to interact with others – for
example, asking a teacher for help, or introducing yourself to another person. And
modelling is a great way to teach skills that are hard to explain in words, like body
language and tone of voice.

Modelling might also be a good option if your child finds it hard to follow verbal
instructions or make eye contact with you. Modelling means your child can watch
your actions and behaviour as you show them what to do, rather than your face as
you tell them.

Modelling might work for your child if they can see and imitate what others are
doing.

Before you start

 Make sure you’ve got your child’s attention.

 Get your child to watch first, and then move slowly so that your child can
clearly see what you’re doing.
 If your child struggles to copy your actions while facing you, let your child sit
alongside you, or copy you while watching from behind.

As you go

 Break down the task if it’s complicated. Start with the easiest part and give
your child time to try it before you move onto the next part.
 Point out the important parts of what you’re doing. For example, ‘See how I’m
…’.
 Use ‘thinking aloud’ comments. For example, ‘That wasn’t quite right – I think
I’ll try that again’.
 Give your child the chance to practise after watching you, and give them
prompts to remind them of the steps.

When the task is finished

 Repeat the modelling if needed.

 Praise and encourage your child.
 Give your child plenty of opportunities to practise the skill, including in new
places or situations.

It’s important not to model behaviour that you don’t want your child to learn – for example,
giving up when it’s hard, or raising your voice when you’re angry. You might like to try our ideas
for managing stress.

Teaching step by step

Some tasks or activities are complicated or need to happen in a specific order. For
these, you can break the task down into smaller steps, and teach your child one step
at a time.

For example, here’s how you might break down getting dressed:

 Get clothes out.

 Put on underpants.
 Put on socks.
 Put on shirt.
 Put on pants.
 Put on a jumper.

Each of these steps can be broken down into parts as well. For example, you could
explain ‘Put on a jumper’ like this:

 Face the jumper the right way.

 Pull the jumper over your head.
 Put one arm through.
 Put the other arm through.
 Pull the jumper down.

The idea of step-by-step teaching is to teach one step at a time. When your child
has learned the first step, you teach the next step, then the next, and so on. You
keep going until your child can do the whole task by themselves. You can use
instructions and modelling to help your child learn each step.

A poster or picture cards showing each of the steps can help too.

Teaching with backwards steps

It’s often a good idea to teach a complicated task like getting dressed by starting
with the last step, rather than the first. This is called backwards teaching.

For example, if you want to use backwards teaching for putting on a jumper, you
might help your child put the jumper over their head and put their arms in.
Then get your child to do the last step – that is, pulling the jumper down.

Once your child can pull the jumper down, get your child to put their arms through
and then pull the jumper down. Go on like this until your child has mastered each
step of the task and can do the whole thing.

Most of the time, it’s better to teach the last step first. This is because often the
most rewarding thing about a job or task is getting it finished. Also, there’s more
likely to be a natural reward for finishing the last step – for example, ‘I finished
putting on my shoes, so I can play now’. These natural rewards keep your child
motivated.

Helping your child complete the steps

You might help your child by gesturing, reminding them of the next step, or helping
physically – for example, putting your hands over your child’s hands and guiding
them through the movements. You can gradually phase out your help as your child
learns the new skill.

 It’s OK to ask for support when you’re helping children with

disability learn new skills.

Repetition is the key to bypassing the filtration and retaining the memory, or
in this case, skill. The set of techniques below can help you teach life skills
to your child:

Step 1: Analyzing the Task – Every task has different components. If you
want to teach your child how to wash his or her hands, you begin by
demonstrating how to turn on the faucet, explaining the difference between
the hot and cold sides. Next, you show how to place hands under the
running water, how to get and use soap, how to replace the bar of soap in
the dish, how to rinse the soap from the hands, turning off the faucet, and,
finally, drying the hands with a towel.
Step 2: Create a Visual Guide – Putting together a visual display of the
steps of the task may help your child remember how to accomplish the skill
you have instructed. Images or photos of the various steps enforce what
they have learned. A useful tool for this is
at https://www.boardmakeronline.com.
Step 3: Prompt and Fade – Prompting is hand to hand help in completing
the task. Depending on your child, you may need to do this many times. It
is beneficial to usual both physical and verbal prompts when teaching a
skill. Then, as you fade the physical assistance, you can use verbal
reminders for the steps until no more prompts are required.

Life Skills
1. Potty train
2. Wash hands
3. Brush hair
4. Pick out clothes
5. Dress self
6. Button clothes
7. Shower self
8. Brush teeth
9. Wash face
10. Choose healthy food/snacks
11. Prepare snacks for self
12. Prepare lunch for self
13. Prepare breakfast for self
14. Prepare food for others and self
15. Heat up food in microwave
16. Put food away in proper place
17. Clean off table after meal
18. Put dishes in sink
19. Load dishwasher
20. Unload dishwasher
21. Put on shoes
22. Tie shoes
23. Take trash out of their bathroom
24. Wipe down bathroom sink
25. Wipe down toilet
26. Wipe down mirror
27. Clean up toys and put in toy bin
28. Put away pencils and notebooks after school
29. Ride a bike
30. Bike and Scooter Safety (Where Helmet)
31. Take a walk – learn street safety
32. Mail a letter
33. Retrieve mail out of mailbox
34. Vacuum
35. Sweep
36. Spray mop
 37. Dry mop
38. Answer the phone
39. Dial the phone
40. Memorize phone number
41. Memorize address
42. Learn how to count money
43. Purchase items at a store
44. Shop for groceries
45. Order food at restaurant
46. Use a computer
47. Type an e-mail
48. Use a TV (remote)
49. Pour liquid into a glass
50. Learning to read an indoor/outdoor
thermometer
51. Dressing appropriately to the temperature
52. Water Safety
53. Learn to swim
54. Make Bed
55. Change Sheets
56. Learn to Use Washer & Dryer
57. Dust furniture
58. Wipe Walls & Railings in Home
59. Read Street Signs
60. Read a Map

To begin just pick one of the skills. Work on this skill for the next 10
days or 2 weeks. If the life skill is especially difficult for your child you
might choose to break it down into smaller steps and work on these
until your child masters it. The goal is to get these to eventually become
incorporated into their typical day to day routine. I’ve added a few
printables for you to use while you work on these skills. In order to
print them you will need to click the printables link and fill in the
password.
 8 Easy Steps to
Teaching Your Child Personal Hygiene

Y ou know, we’ve all been there, all kids stink! I’ve noticed that by the age

of 10-11 boys usually start to sweat more and take on a smell. Especially if they
don’t use proper hygiene. I’m sorry if that offends anyone, but it is the truth. It
is so important that we teach our kids proper hygiene — but it becomes even
more trying if your child has special needs.

My oldest son has autism, developmental delays and CP. That means this is a challenging subject and
one my husband and I have to be extra vigilent on. We need to remind him to brush his teeth, take
showers, use deodorant, change his clothes, and his socks. He is now 14 years old but these are still
things we are working on. And that is ok. That is why we have our life skills list and we keep trudging
away.

HOW WE ARE TEACHING OUR CHILD PROPER HYGIENE:

1.Taking a shower every night (after dinner). It makes it easier for him to be ready for the day. We
make sure to have TruKid Silly Shampoo on hand in the shower ( or a different one with a pump –no
turning bottles over).

2. Using deodorant every morning and after every shower. He has trouble with dexterity and fine
motor skills, so we assist him to make sure he aims it correctly. We love this one — Old Spice because
I try to avoid aluminum in deodorant – so this is not an anti-perspirant but it does stop stink!

3. Brushing his teeth after breakfast and before bed. Because of his fine motor skills, this, too can be
difficult. We use Aquafresh Kids to help get the right amount on his toothbrush. It’s easier to push
the button than squeeze from a tube for our son. He is fairly independent now, but we have to
double check his work. We also choose to use an Electric Rechargeable Toothbrush because his
dentist feels it will help him remove plaque more efficiently.

4. Putting on clean weather appropriate clothes every morning. We bought a Forecast Station with
Temperature Alerts digital weather center for our wall. We have taught him temperatures and to
check for conditions such as rain.
5. Cleaning his face after meals. This one he has mastered! He goes into the bathroom and puts
some water on his face, or uses a cloth if he needs to.

6. Washing hands after using bathroom, and before meals. We use liquid soap (with soap pump) in
bathrooms to help him get the right amount of soap on hands.

7. Pottying at regular intervals, and waking up at night. In the past, we’ve had to buy flushable wipes
to help with toilet time, as well.

8. Staying well hydrated. My son has had issues with not drinking enough water and actually
becoming dehydrated. Even though I remind him, I sometimes have to bring him a cup of water or
keep his water bottled filled because he forgets to drink.

It may help to model these things, and allow your child to see you brushing your teeth
and washing your hands. However, for us, repetition has been golden. Also, in the
beginning we would use visual reminders and step by step instructions which we taped
to various places in the house. I’m actually going to start using another visual reminder
schedule with him because I think it helps to reinforce the order and sequencing that
needs to take place (both morning and night).

Learning Life Skills: Tech Can Play a Role

As parents of children with disabilities, we do our best every day to ensure
that our kids receive the supports and services required to obtain a quality
education appropriate to their needs. This, of course, is easier said than
done! Everyday struggles with tracking IEP goals, managing schedules and
service providers can distract us from the entire purpose of special
education – that is, to prepare our children for further education,
employment and independent living.

It is important (and daunting) to envision a child’s life beyond this therapy

session or this next grade, but working towards independence is what we
dream of for all of our children. Looking ahead to the new school year, it is
essential to think of “life skills” as must-have skills for being included in a
community, whether that is the next educational environment, an
employment setting or living as independently as possible.

Mastering skills of independence such as working independently from a

schedule, creating reminders without help, and writing clearly can go a long
way to increasing independence and even your child’s time in an inclusion
setting. Getting to a job or class on time, understanding instructions, and
articulating needs clearly are necessary for everyone, regardless of ability.
Technology has an important role to play in assisting our children to
develop these skills to reach long term goals.

There are many apps that can be game changers for students in inclusion
settings and can help lead to more successful transitions as students enter
high school and beyond. Taking adequate time to prepare by working on
those skills now and planning for transition early can make for a much
smoother process and reduce anxiety. Life skills are for everyone!

By C.E.T. The Center for Educational Technology

Helps users understand the steps to practicing activities of hygiene using
videos and picture sequence cards. The visuals are appealing because
they depict young adults, making the clips relatable to teens. Using the
sequence cards after users watch the videos has been extremely beneficial
for follow through.

Week Planner for Kids

By Novitura
Week Planner for Kids is a terrific daily management app to help children
organize their days with familiar icons. The app is simple to learn and the
graphics are bright, colorful and fun. Users can customize icons by adding
hand written text and photos from the album on their mobile device. We
highly recommend this app for early learners, and students who need
support with time management. They will love planning their weekly
activities!
What makes an app life-changing? We often have these aha moments at
BridgingApps, as we hear from an excited father who just discovered the
“perfect” calendar app to help his daughter manage her day. Or a
recreational therapist shares a success with helping a teen reach his goal
of navigating the community more independently. Extensive planning,
sweat, problem-solving (not to mention persistence) and skill assessing has
gone into achieving these goals. Will that calendar app work for all kids? Is
the way finding tool the perfect app? No! But, it may be the perfect app for
that individual. And that can be life changing.

Technology is not a silver bullet. Technology does not solve all problems. It
is just a tool (a powerful one) in your toolbox. However, technology can
help a person solve a small challenge that in turn, has a huge impact in his
or her life. Using a calendar independently in elementary school, can have
a big payoff when a teen begins to look for his first job. Understanding
directions and how maps work is a life skill that children of all abilities need
to master, whether it is going from classroom to classroom or from home to
work. We have included some of our favorite life-changing apps, and we
would love to hear about your!

10 Essential Life Skills for Success (Special Needs

Children)
Fostering independence in children is an important goal of any
parent. Through different developmental stages, progressive
“windows of opportunity” emerge to foster skills that will
ultimately lead to independence. Understandably, parents want
their children to be ready when these changes occur.
How can I help my special needs child increase
their level of independence?
For all children, and especially those with special needs, achieving independence
is an important part of the journey into adulthood. From the moment we wake
in the morning, we go through certain tasks, known as “life skills.” These tasks
could include typical activities such as making the bed, performing bathroom
routines, getting dressed, making meals, communicating and so many others.
For most, the list is virtually endless.
But with the right preparation and patience, children can develop the essential
skills required to foster independent living. And beyond just telling
students how to practice these essential life skills, students must be guided in a
practical way so that they not only learn about what is being taught but learn
how to apply it in the real world.
The 10 Essential Life Skills for Special Needs Children

Life skills for special needs children play an essential role in

improving sensory processing, communication, safety, social
relationships and ultimately, acquiring independence. Here are
just 10 of the essential life skills we cover with our students at
Alpha School:
1. Self-Care
2. Pre-Vocational Skills
3. Daily Living Skills
4. Community-Based Instruction
5. Leisure and Recreational Skills
6. Functional Reading
7. Functional Math
8. Work-Related Behaviors
9. Shopping Skills
10. Cooking and Laundry Skills
What are Life Skills in Special Education?
Life skills are activities that we do to be as independent as possible. Life skills are activities
such as washing our hands, ordering at a restaurant, brushing our teeth or paying at a store.
These are things that many of us probably take for granted. It’s important to work on these
essential life skills with our students to help them to be independent as they grow older. The
goal is to be able to be as independent as possible within society.

Why are Life Skills Important for Students with

Special Needs?
Our students with special needs must learn functional life skills to be an independent member
of society. We should have high goals for our students while they are in our classroom (that
are also attainable). My main goal with students is always independence. I don’t want them to
be prompt-dependent. I want them to be able to complete daily life skills on their own one
day.
Some of our students will be able to live on their own as an adult if we teach them the skills
that they need. This makes teaching life skills one of the most important parts of special
education.

3 Ways to Work on Life Skills in Special Education

Below, I’ve listed three ways to work on life skills in your special education classroom. You
can do as much or as little as you like in the classroom to fit your schedule!

1. Real Life Skills Practice at School

Practicing life skills while at school is the most obvious way to incorporate life skills into
your classroom routine. For example, after lunch-have students practice brushing their teeth.
Take specific restroom breaks throughout the day to practice washing hands and practice
restroom procedures. Teach students how to make simple snacks and teach them
the vocabulary needed for cooking.

Try having some life skills activities incorporated into your classroom jobs, such as sweeping with
the broom or wiping down the tables at dismissal time.
Practice counting and identifying money during math or even set up a school-wide snack cart. There
are honestly so many different opportunities for practicing life skills throughout the day!

2. Community-Based Instruction (CBI) Trips

CBI trips are one of my favorite ways to work on life skills in special education. When I was
still in the classroom, we would take weekly CBI trips to focus on functional skills that
students need when they are out in the community. CBI trips are community-based
instruction. These are a great way to practice essential life skills in special education by
taking students out into the community. We have gone to such places as restaurants, dollar
store, the post office, the grocery store and Wal-Mart.

Taking students out into the community gives real world life skills experience and practice
and helps prepare them to use the skills that you’ve been working on in the classroom. Did
you know that there are 6 life skills you can teach students just while taking them grocery
shopping?!

3. Hands-On Life Skills Sequencing Activities

Taking students out into the community is great hands-on practice for teaching life skills in
special education. However, it’s not always practical for every classroom or school so we
have to find other ways to work on life skills too! This is why I developed the Life Skills Cut
and Paste Worksheets! I wanted my students to be able to practice some of these
community skills and understand the process and sequence for each activity.
You can use these Life Skills Sequencing Worksheets during centers practice and also
before and after CBI trips throughout the year! There are social narratives included for the
safety skills as well. We can’t practice EVERYTHING in the natural setting so bring some
work tasks into your classroom to reinforce community skills!
Here is a list of all of the life skills that the Life Skills Worksheets focus on:
 Crossing the street
 Bus rules
 Public bathrooms
 Waiting in line
 Ordering food
 Making a purchase
 Using a debit card
 Using a credit card
 Eating at a restaurant
 Mailing a letter
 Checking out a book
 Shopping at the mall
 Going to the movies
 Going to a baseball game
 Going to a pet store
 Going bowling
 Going to the zoo
 Going to a nature center

TEACHING LIFE SKILLS TO PRESCHOOLERS

At the preschool level, the focus is on introducing basic life skills
through play and routine activities. Children at this stage are very
curious and eager to learn, making it the perfect time to start teaching
specific skills.

 Toilet Training: This is one of the first major steps

towards self-care that a child takes. Children with
autism might need structured routine and visual
schedules, while those with physical disabilities might
need assistive devices. The best method is to use
patience and consistency to ensure success in this
process. Children with autism may need a structured approach and extra practice.
 Handwashing: Teaching preschoolers to wash their
hands with soap is an important hygiene lesson. For children
with ADHD, turning the process into a fun game or
song can help them focus.
 Brushing Teeth: This is another essential hygiene

routine. Using flavored toothpaste or a toothbrush with

a favorite character can make the process more
appealing. Step-by-step directions showing how to
brush teeth can also be helpful.
 Understanding Basic Emotions: Start teaching

children to identify basic emotions like happy, sad,

angry, etc. Social stories and picture cards can be
effective tools for children with Autism to understand
and express their feelings.