Daily Home Activities

Hi there! 

My name is Heidi Martin from Beyond The Label Autism Services. I currently serve as our outreach consultant and am so excited to give you some tips that are so important to us. This information will be super helpful for parents and families with loved ones whom may struggle with daily home activities!

A little about us…. Beyond the Label is an Applied Behavior Analysis provider for ages 0-26. We serve individuals throughout many counties in central and south central Indiana. We offer in-home and community based services. In addition, we also have our clinic which is located in Shelbyville, IN. Our aim is to focus on an individual’s strengths and challenges to move beyond their label. You can learn more at www.btlautism.com!  

Sometimes, one of the most difficult parts of being a parent is developing the skills at home that others may be unavailable to assist with. Daily living skills are an essential part of everyone’s life. The activities that we engage in are crucial to our independence. By helping individuals learn these different activities, parents are not only reducing one more thing they have to worry about, but also giving their loved ones an opportunity to become more independent. 

Teaching daily living skills can potentially be a daunting task, especially when it is often easier to do it yourself! However, by teaching these skills, we are allowing our loved ones who struggle with these tasks to become self-sufficient.

You may be wondering what activities fall under the category of “daily living skills”.  These are skills that we perform either every day or multiple times a week in order to maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle. There are multiple things that can fall into this category but the most common ones are: 

• Personal Hygiene 

  • Bathing Routines 

  • Handwashing 

  • Toileting 

  • Toothbrushing 

• Chores 

  • Laundry 

  • Washing Dishes 

  • Folding Clothes

• Money and Time Management 

• Meal Preparation 

• Morning/Evening Routines 

Visual Example

Using visuals can help a lot!

Wow! That’s a lot but……how should I teach these “daily living skills”? I am sure some of these things are tasks that you, as a caregiver or parent, have just picked up and find it faster (or a lot less complicated) to complete yourself. But, try following some of these tips to make the learning process easier! 

• Start small! We never want to overwhelm the learner by giving too big of a task. If you can outline the steps of the task and work your way through it step-by-step, it makes it a lot clearer of what is expected. For example, when teaching hand washing, instead of showing every step at once, try showing them turning on the water, and have them repeat that step until they can do it by themselves. After they have one step down, move to the next and build it up! 

• Use visuals! Visuals also help to break down tasks into smaller steps. They also provide an aid that can be helpful if the learner forgets a step or doesn’t know what comes next. Visuals often provide reminders while allowing the learner to complete the task on their own. 

• Make Accommodations! Some tasks may be too much and that’s okay. If the learner doesn’t enjoy a certain task, it can be helpful to change something around so they enjoy it more. If the vacuum is too loud, have them wear headphones or find another chore for them to complete such as sweeping with a broom.

• Have fun with it! Think about when you do the dishes or laundry. Are you watching TV or listening to music while doing it? It may be helpful to incorporate something the learner prefers into the activity they are completing. Let them pick the playlist and have fun while doing these tasks. 

• Get involved! Make the learning process a family ordeal. Try making a bingo chart of activities that need to be completed and whoever gets BINGO first wins! There are also different APPs that make chores seem like a game. Chore Monster is a fun one to do and allows the learner to practice self-initiation as well. You can get as creative as you like to help make these activities less intimidating and seem like a game!

HOME BINGO

Families can get involved with a weekly BINGO board for their child. It gives them choice and some independence too!

One of the most important aspects about teaching a new behavior is to provide reinforcement. Reinforcement can be anything that the learner prefers such as a break on the iPad, a piece of candy, etc. By providing a reinforcer, we are helping to increase the behavior. For example, if the learner has completed all of their chores, then they can have a 10 minute break on the iPad. When the learner is reinforced, they now understand that each time they complete this behavior, they have an opportunity to gain something that they want to do. 

 Becoming more independent is a goal that every parent has for their child. By incorporating home activities into their learning process, you can help them increase their ability to do these things while also giving you one less thing to worry about!!   

Beyond the Label is so excited to be a part of this blog! We hope that this overview was helpful and we are always open for questions if you have any. We encourage you to reach out if you want to learn more about ABA or have any questions about our services! You can contact hmartin@btlautism.com if you have questions regarding teaching home activities or reach out to us at info@btlautism.com for information about our services.