Question:

How can I teach life skills to students with mild to moderate mental retardation?

Terry

Answer:

Hi Terry,

Teaching life skills to students with mild to moderate mental retardation takes time, lots of practice in natural settings, and dedication. Bender , Valletutti, and Baglin report in A Functional Curriculum for Teaching Students with Disabilities (ProEd):

“A primary purpose of special education is to help students with disabilities lead successful and personally fulfilling lives now and in the future. Curriculum for students with mental retardation should be designed to prepare students to function as independently as possible in an integrated society. This curriculum should include a broad range of skills and be chronologically age-appropriate and useful to the learner. Such a curriculum fosters the development of skills that increase autonomy, encourages constructive codependence, and nurtures problem solving in the home, school, community, and workplace.”

Along with your dedication, you need the support of the family, instructional assistants, and special education administrators. Family buy-in is critical for student success as you prepare them for adulthood and adult services. Numerous teaching strategies exist for this student population. Any intervention must include the following:

• Formal/informal Assessment (see AAS Transition archive for assessment ideas at http://www.askaspecialist.ca.gov/archives/2002/transition/Apr_2002.htm )
• Appropriate, meaningful, and relevant curriculum (refer to Life Centered Career Education-LCCE; Loyd & Brolin. (2004) at http://www.ideapractices.org/pd/lcce/index.html to view description of the curriculum and sample lesson plans).
• Student interests, ability levels, learning style, preferences (interview student, family, and/or others via mapping activities).
• Family input (parent/guardian/caretaker can complete the Adolescent Autonomy Checklist at
  http://depts.washington.edu/healthtr/Checklists/intro.htm to help them determine their child’s life skills needs at home).

Remember the goal is for the student to develop the skills mentioned earlier. The best teaching occurs in the student’s natural environment (home, school, community, work) and should be integrated throughout his/her day.

The following book contains interventions across domains that will support your efforst and provide meaningful curriculum strategies:

Curriculum and Assessment for Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities   by Barbara Wilson and Diane M. Browder can be viewed on line.

Hope everything works smoothly.