Life Skills for Special Education Iowa

Teaching life skills to a group of special education students can be a very fun and rewarding experience. The majority of special education students to whom life skills are taught are those with developmental disabilities, those with learning disabilities so severe that they may affect day-to-day living, those with high functioning Autism or Autistic tendencies, or those with Asperger's. Life skills are generally those skills that the students will need to survive in everyday life (skills such as money management, hygiene, and shopping for groceries). These skills are essential for special education students to learn because they enable the transition from school to life in the "real world."

There are so many fun ways to teach life skills to special education students. Because so many special education students learn things better when they are not confined to the classroom, sitting behind a desk or staying in one spot, learning life skills should be something that the students are doing instead of hearing about. Therefore, if you are trying to teach life skills to a group of special education students, try getting them involved in the learning process; have them learn while doing!

1. Money Management Skills: Money management skills can be taught all day long, everyday in the special education classroom. Why not implement a system in your room where the students earn a specific amount of "fun" money for doing certain things throughout the day? For example, if your students get all of their work done in class on time, they can earn a specific amount of money for doing so. This money can be banked in checkbooks that the students keep in their desks. When money is received throughout the day, the student is responsible for recording this in the checkbooks. Of course, the teacher must teach how to record money in these checkbooks, but honestly, this is most likely something that the students will also learn by you showing them one-on-one and then doing with assistance everyday.
   
   Students should also be allowed to spend their money throughout the day if they wish. Does your student want to have some free time during study hall? If so, why not have him write you a check, using some of his money to pay for that free time? As you can see, teaching this specific life skill to students is one that can occur all day long. This banking system is a good one to start right at the beginning of the school year and follow throughout the year. ...

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Author: Kaye Siders