Stephanie Cazalas's Blog for Special Education
There are many skills that I strive to teach the children in my special education classroom. Among these are adaptive/self-help skills, coping skills and appropriate behavior for different situations. One area in which I am always looking for new ideas is in the area of functional skills. By functional skills, I mean those that may someday lead to a job. Having a purpose in life is a fundamental part of making us feel worthwhile and each life is worthy of having a purpose. Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteIt is great that you are teaching them these skills early so that they are able to apply those skills when they are needed. I think one skill that students have trouble with would be introductions, this is not only for students in special education. The fact is that many children do not know how to properly introduce themselves. I know that our special education class gets to take many trips around town so that they are introduced to other places. Many students only go to school or home. Thes trips give them new experiences that they would not have otherwise. This class has learned how to introduce themselves to different people. For example, the student would introduce themselves to a professional in one way and to a friend in another way. They would take trips to the grocery store and other places though town and the students would practice talking to people. They had to decide if the introduction should be a greeting such as 'hey' or if they should give their name. These students need the day to day skills like this so that they are able to live normal lives.
Neileigh,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. You are absolutely right. It is important for all children to know how to react to introductions in different environments. As you mentioned, what is an appropriate greeting for one individual may not be appropriate for another . Recognizing and having the ability to differentiate these situations is important for a successful future.
Actually, you are probably already teaching many skills that will help your students in the workplace that we overlook many times. Simple tasks such as sorting by color, shape or size helps students develop job skills. I know some students are actually making necklaces and selling them to raise money for their class room. When you teach you students routines, this is preparing them for the workplace. Preparing students for jobs can start as early as of possible. I also like Stephanie's idea of taking students to new environments. Teaching social skills is the major area to focus on. Any activity you can use that teaches students how to communicate and interact with others would be helpful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa. I like the idea of making necklaces and selling them, what a great enterprising idea. I have been thinking that I would try and teach my students to make the no-sew fleece blankets and donate to a shelter. I just have to figure a way to finance the idea.
DeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteIt is vitally important that students have functional skills to become an independent member of society. I am positive that you are modeling all the appropriate skills that students need to function in their day to day lives. I believe that incorporating technology and providing students with appropriate use of the internet will definitely help. We live in a society where everything is computer-based, this would definitely help if they were to do a job that required data entry. Learning simple skills now can become beneficial for future use.
Tiffany, you are correct about technology. As we all know, this is important information for all of our students to have in order to be prepared for tomorrow.
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