7 Ways To Develop Independent Living Skills In Your Child With Autism

A parent’s job is difficult. From the beginning, it’s the parents’ responsibility to teach their children multiple skills that are needed for their safety and well being. While some kids learn them pretty fast, children with autism need a little more time than others.

Every child needs help while learning independent skills & in the case of kids with ASD, it seems more burdensome. Independent skills are skills that are essential for mundane tasks like brushing, dressing, eating, bathing, and even sleeping. Kids with ASD have a hard time getting used to these habits as they require more attention.

Teaching independence is usually done at an early age, but in cases of autistic children, we need to be ready to look far beyond. 

Teaching Life Skills At Home

To teach these life skills at home, you need to come up with some strategies. We have listed a few for your benefits: 

First of all, an assessment is important. You need to understand what your child’s strengths & weaknesses are. After finding out what these are, it will be easier for you to set your goals to work on.

Then comes the part of teaching your child, which has to be in a supportive way. They should find joy while learning. In this regard, visual aids & checklists may work like charms. 

If you want to potty train a child with autism, first you will have to get them familiarized with all of the activities. That even includes sitting. Tasks like these take time, but with a lot of practice, they will be able to do it by themselves. 

There are many ways to teach your kids independent living skills. In this article, we are going to talk about seven things that work with almost every child with any kind of special needs.

1. Strengthen Communication

The most important part of teaching your autistic child is how to communicate properly. In most cases, autistic children seem to struggle with communicating with others. 

If your kid has spoken language difficulties, then you may try to train them in that way or provide tools to help express preferences, desires, and feelings. Augmented Alternative Communication (AAC) and visual supports are some solutions you can try. 

2. Introduce a Visual Schedule  

Using a visual schedule can be one of the most effective ways to increase the independence of your child, especially when their routines continue to grow.

It will help them to switch from one activity to another with less provocation, thus making the whole activity more engaging and fun. They will be able to practice decision making and work more independently. 

You can download an ASD toolkit, as well as ATN/AIR-P Visual Supports to learn more about this technique.

3. Work on Self-Care Skills & Prepare Them for Adolescence

It’s crucial to teach your child to take good care of themselves at an early age. These may include brushing teeth, combing hair, potty training, putting on clothes, among others. 

You need to teach them everything step by step, giving them the chance to imitate the task properly. Then, let them try all by themselves to see how far they go.

Self-care is particularly important when they are about to enter their puberty. This is a tough stage for most people, particularly those with ASD.

Teach your daughter how to change her pad when she is 10 or 11 years old. It will make sure she doesn’t get intimidated when the time comes. If you have a son, prepare him for their adolescence as well.

4. Teach Them to Work at Home and Outside

Learning to do household chores creates a sense of confidence & responsibility in your child, which will affect them later in life as they grow up. 

Teach them lovingly about the dishes, organizing a table, cleaning the table & dishes, dumping leftovers, and other household chores. You can also teach them other work such as counting money, paying bills, etc. to improve their money skills.

You may think letting them use the money would be a risky thing. But, practicing money skills is crucial if you want your child to face the real world.

If they struggle to understand the whole task & find it difficult to conduct it as a whole, try breaking the whole task into smaller, more individual tasks and let the child do them one by one.

Once you teach those skills, let them practice it by themselves by making them clean the house or pay the bills to the cashier.  

5. Teach Your Child To Sleep Alone

Kids need lots of sleep to energize their bodies and minds for the next day. Sadly, a lot of kids with autism syndrome disorder have trouble sleeping. Even the ones that do are uncomfortable sleeping alone. Sooner or later, they have to sleep alone, so it is better to teach them early on.

In order to maintain the sleeping schedule, do not feed them one hour prior to bedtime. 

Instead of lying down with them, sit beside the bed so you can easily step outside when the baby falls asleep. 

6. Teach Them Self-Advocacy

This is one of the most ignored parts when it comes to teaching your autistic kid social skills. Children must learn to get their needs met effectively. 

Teach your child who to approach for help, when and how to ask questions, give their opinion regarding something, and how to say no. 

While most parents avoid teaching their child self-advocacy, this is one of the most important things to learn for a child with a disability.

7. Prepare Them for Job

Most parents think their kids won’t be able to do a job due to their disability and plan to take care of them throughout their lives. This is the worst thing you can do for your child. 

Regardless of their condition, prepare them for the real-life job market as they grow up. If possible, take them to your workplace to give them an idea about the corporate world, teach them how to create a resume, how to be a good employee.

You will also find some voluntary works in the churches, sports clubs, communities, etc. that allow such children to contribute. Enroll your kid in those activities and prepare them for the real world. 

Final Thoughts

Along with all these, it is an extra plus point to teach them about safety signs and indicators. You should teach them how to use transportation and how to use pedestrian safety as he grows older. 

Last but not least, you need to be patient. Your child may need special support, but you should never lose hope & be impatient with them. Love them more & more, and they will surely be independent growing up.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are the personal views of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)