A Caregiver's Guide To Teaching Self-Care With Flair!

Caregivers of children with autism frequently express frustration when teaching self-care skills. A uniform approach often helps children with ASD generalize learning to all situations. Research has shown that children remember better when novelty is intertwined with learning new skills, and children have been known to memorize rhymes such as Mother Goose rhymes faster than text. Keeping this in mind, the presenters have recently published Self-Care with Flair!, a practical teaching tool with pictures/rhymes for over 50 self-care skills. Teaching basic self-care skills to children can be tedious and is often not prioritized in school or at home, yet these skills are critical for acceptance at school and successful transition into the community. Occupational Therapists are often consulted.  A uniform approach to teaching daily living skills is critical to helping the child generalize the skills to all situations. Learning can be delayed when small differences in method and/or terminology confuse the child or when the number of steps proves to be overwhelming for the child, parent and/or teacher.

The authors of Self-Care with Flair!have devised a uniform methodology (with pictures & rhymes) to teach self-care skills in a manner that is consistent both at home and school.   Several piloting projects by teachers and parents have shown that mastery was accomplished within short periods of time by students with ASD as well as other disabilities. 

 Novel experiences such as rhymes and rhythm trigger the brain to sustain attention longer (Sousa, D.A. 2006).  For example, our memory for nursery rhymes remains with us many years.  Rhymes are simple yet effective ways to remember rules and patterns.  If the child gets part of the rhyme wrong, the loss of rhyme or rhythm signals the error, encouraging the child to self-correct. 

Brain-based research also indicates that successful learning occurs when teaching incorporates a multi-sensory approach.  A combination of auditory, visual and tactile cues reinforces retention. Self-Care with Flair! provides auditory prompts with the rhymes, visual cues with the pictures and tactile input as skills are practiced. 

In Self-Care with Flair! (available through Therapro,Inc.), the authors have composed rhymes for over 50 basic self-care skills that are typically expected of school-aged children.  Four comprehensive chapters include skills necessary to master dressing, grooming, eating and toilet training.   An additional chapter lists hand skills and activities designed to enhance fine motor coordination. 

This session is aimed at parents/caregivers, teachers, therapists and other professionals involved in teaching basic self-care skills to children with ASD.  Although Self-Care with Flair!is certainly a practical and useful tool, attendees at this session do not need to buy the book in order to benefit from the session.  Parents and teachers can use their own digital camera to produce their own personalized visuals aids that are the basis for this methodology.

The authors have presented at conferences for the Ohio, Pennsylvania and American Occupational Therapy Associations as well as many regional and local workshops for therapist, teachers and parents/caregivers.  Their presentations are uniformly well received.   

Learning Objectives

 Objective 1:The attendee will learn a uniform approach to teaching self-care skills to children with autism spectrum disorders and other disabilities.

Objective 2: The attendee will recognize how a uniform approach promotes mastery within short periods of time.

Objective 3:The attendee will learn how systematic integration of more than one sensory system (i.e. auditory, visual and tactile) can bring about holistic results.

Objective 4: The attendee will become knowledgeable about the underlying neurological basis for teaching daily living skills to children using this methodology

Objective 5:The attendee will understand the importance of task-specific in-hand manipulative skills that are critical for learning and retention of many self-care skills.

References/Resources

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 Bellini, S., & Akullian, J. (2007). A meta-analysis of videomodeling and video self-modeling interventions for children and adolescents with autism. Exceptional Children, 73, 264-287.

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 Betz, A., Higbee, T.S., & Reagon, K.A. (2008). Using joint activity schedules to promote peer engagement in preschoolers with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 237-241.

Bridgeman, Marcia. (2002). Fine Motor Olympics Activities. Framingham, MA: Therapro Inc.

Case-Smith, J (2005). Occupational Therapy for Children (5th edition). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

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Crozier, S. & Tincani, M. (2007). Effects of social stories on prosocial behavior of preschool children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Development Disorders, 37, 1803-1814.

DeGrace, B.W. (2004). The Everyday Occupation of Families With Children With Autism, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58, 543-550.

Dublin, M. W. (2002). How the Brain Works. Williston, VT: Blackwell Science Publishing.

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Hanschu, B. (2000). Evaluations and Treatment of Sensory Integrative Disorders (Part I). Little Rock, AR: Developmental Concepts (Seminar).

Hanschu, B. (2001). Evaluations and Treatment of Sensory Integrative Disorders (Part II). Ann Arbor, MI: Developmental Concepts (Seminar).

Hwang B. & Hughes, C. (2000). The effects of social interactive training on early social communicative skills of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 30, 331-343.

Juckett, L. & Glennon, T.J. (2009). Rhyming Storybooks: To Address Safety for Children With an ASD, OT Practice 14, (Issue 21), 10-14.