Self-Help Skills for People with Autism: A Systematic Approach
by Marcus L. Thomeer, Vicki Madaus Knapp, Stephen R. Anderson, Amy L. Jablonski and Woodbine House
Basic skills now for independence later
2008 IPPY Award Winner: Bronze Medallist, Psychology/Mental Health
Learning self-help skills – eating, dressing, toileting, and personal hygiene – can be challenging for people with autism, but is essential for independence. Self-Help Skills for People with Autism thoroughly describes a systematic approach that parents (and educators) can use to teach basic self-care to children, ages 24 months to early teens, and even older individuals. With an encouraging tone, the authors – behaviour analysts and psychologists – emphasise that it’s worthwhile to devote the extra time and effort now to teach skills rather than have your child be dependent on others.
The many case studies throughout Self-Help Skills depict individuals with deficits in specific self-care tasks, and demonstrate how a coordinated and systematic approach is effective in teaching more complex skills. For example, a 12-year-old with the self-feeding skills of a toddler, who was excluded from the school cafeteria, is taught to stay at the table to eat a full meal using utensils. The book offers detailed insight and specific instruction strategies:
- Specify the target skill to be taught after prioritising the self-care tasks that are most important and will likely have the greatest success rate
- Use task analysis to break complex skills into a series of small steps that will later be linked together to form the more complex skill
- Apply a systematic approach to instruction that consistently employs proven methods for teaching people with autism including verbal prompting, reinforcers/rewards, chaining, graduated guidance, shaping, modelling, visual supports, etc.
- Monitor progress by collecting and analysing data
- Modify your approach as needed to achieve the target goal
A chapter is devoted to each of the four skill areas (eating, dressing, toileting, personal hygiene) offering detailed insight and specific instruction strategies. Appendices contain forms to complete for task analyses, instructional plans, and data collection. With the information in Self-Help Skills, parents can immediately start teaching their child, or refer back to the book to fine-tune skills as their child develops.
2007, 200 pages
ISBN: 978-1-890627-41-6
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Table of ContentsexpandClick to collapse
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: Reducing Long-term Dependence
Chapter 2: Identifying Individual Differences
Chapter 3: Determining What to Teach and When
Chapter 4: Establishing a Context for Learning
Chapter 5: Motivating Your Child to Learn
Chapter 6: Using Effective Tools for Change
Chapter 7: Evaluating Progress
Chapter 8: Teaching Dressing and Personal Hygiene Skills
Chapter 9: Teaching Eating Skills
Chapter 10: Teaching Toileting Skills
Chapter 11: Planning for Generalization
Conclusion
References
Self-help Curricula and Other Resources
Appendix A: Self-Help Inventory
Appendix B: Troubleshooting: Common Problems and Possible Solutions
Appendix C: Five Readiness Skills Your Child Should Learn
Appendix D: How to Write an Instructional Plan
Appendix E: Blank Instructional Plan Form
Appendix F: Blank Task Analysis Data Sheet
Self-Help Skills for People with Autism: A Systematic Approach is designed to foster development in the areas of:
- Communication
- Life Skills
- Resource preparation
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