60 Life Skills to Teach Your Child

with

Special Needs

When my son turned 9 years old I came to a startling wake-up call. I realized that because he has autism, sensory processing disorder, and global delays we would need to really focus on life skills or he would continue to fall further and further behind. These skills, which are taught more loosely to his developmentally-typical peers … the same skills that some kids just observe and soak in naturally in their environment … these would need to be taught explicitly to my oldest son for him to learn them and to accept them as part of his routine. For those of you who don’t know, A is almost 13 years old and this is a list of life skills that he has accomplished in the last few years. Many of these are still on his “practice” list and others he has down pat – but I’m sharing this with you today just in case you are in a place where I was just a few years ago. You need to start somewhere – so whatever stage your child is in, I’m hoping this list will give you a launching off point to help you narrow down just a few skills they could be learning right now. The key is to be intentional in whatever you teach.

Life Skills

Potty train
Wash hands
Brush hair
Pick out clothes
Dress self
Button clothes
Shower self
Brush teeth
Wash face
Choose healthy food/snacks
Prepare snacks for self
Prepare lunch for self
Prepare breakfast for self
Prepare food for others and self
Heat up food in microwave
Put food away in proper place
Clean off table after meal
Put dishes in sink
Load dishwasher
Unload dishwasher
Put on shoes
Tie shoes
Take trash out of their bathroom
Wipe down bathroom sink
Wipe down toilet
Wipe down mirror
Clean up toys and put in toy bin
Put away pencils and notebooks after school
Ride a bike
Bike and Scooter Safety (Where Helmet)
Take a walk – learn street safety
Mail a letter
Retrieve mail out of mailbox
Vacuum
Sweep
Spray mop
Dry mop
Answer the phone
Dial the phone
Memorize phone number
Memorize address
Learn how to count money
Purchase items at a store
Shop for groceries
Order food at restaurant
Use a computer
Type an e-mail
Use a TV (remote)
Pour liquid into a glass
Learning to read an indoor/outdoor thermometer
Dressing appropriately to the temperature
Water Safety
Learn to swim
Make Bed
Change Sheets
Learn to Use Washer & Dryer
Dust furniture
Wipe Walls & Railings in Home
Read Street Signs
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.