Worried about your Learning Disabled Child's Future? Focus on Functional Skills

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by Merely Me
Monday, December 14, 2009

Some of the questions we receive here at Friends of Quinn are from caregivers and parents who have a child with serious learning disabilities and they wonder what the future will hold for their child. In future posts I wish to discuss some of these post secondary school options as well as support for vocational development. But before we discuss these options let's talk about what skills your child will need for the future.

No matter how young your child may be, it is never too early to be thinking about his or her independence in their adult years. One way to begin preparation for the future is to focus upon teaching your child functional skills. What exactly are "functional" skills? These are the things we do every day to survive. They can include things like money management, meal preparation, or doing laundry. They can also include social skills and behavioral coping skills to deal with the frustration of living with a learning disability. If your child is not taught these things they will have a very rough time of it when they enter adulthood. It is a scary thought but you will not live forever. Your child will most likely outlive you. So you need to begin as early as possible to prepare them for the world as best as you are able.

I have met many teachers as well as homeschooling parents who are teaching children with learning disabilities and special needs who do not understand this concept of teaching functional skills. There is an emphasis upon "normalizing" the child to fit someone else's idea of the perfect student. Learning how to count in French or being able to dissect a frog might be interesting and fun but does the child know how to shop in a supermarket, prepare a meal, or how to ask for help when distressed? There is only so much time and it is my opinion that if you have a child with any sort of learning disability or special needs that they should spend as much time as possible learning the things which will increase their overall independence and ability to take care of themselves.

Three broad domains of goals I think are essential for any child who has a learning disability include: Skills of daily living, Social skills, and Communication skills.

Every year I like to assess my son Max on his strengths and weaknesses in these areas. I am going to give you an sample of a functional skills assessment you can use with your own child for the purpose of teaching goals.

Skills of Daily Living:

For Children

• Does your child initiate and follow through with bathing or showering every day?
• Does your child initiate and follow a dental hygiene routine including flossing and brushing their teeth?
• Does your child initiate picking out their own clothes and are their choices appropriate for the weather?
• Can your child make his or her own snack?
• Can your child make their bed or perform simple chores around the house?

For young adults

• Does your adult child know how to pay bills?