Online Reading 1

Now, from that list, circle the things that you need for work. Next, make a list of the things you had to learn for your current job (Don't count being a student in this one).

If you have a typical list, you probably learned to communicate, to keyboard, to make friends, to read, to do math.

Learned in class	Not part of academics

Reading Math Keyboarding Driving	Communicating with friends How to get along Friendships Pastimes and hobbies

There are a lot of things we learn from being together that are not in the academic curriculum. Still, they certainly are a part of school - the process of schooling. Every once in a while, a kid comes along who just doesn't seem to "catch on" to the social mores. For some reason they just don't seem to learn how to fit in, know when something is a joke, figure out how to keep from being picked on, how to make a best friend. Those are process skills. They come naturally to some of us, but to others, they are not so simple and the visual and auditory clues from others do not inform these youth of the subtle nuances of social graciousness and how to cope.

The average student learns how to use the phone, brush teeth, shave legs, order food without going over the amount of money, balance a check book, get a date, express disappointment appropriately, call in late to work. You may not even remember when you learned these things, who told you - or you may even remember picking it up from an older brother or sister, from a friend or roommate. It is second nature and almost intuitive to learn most of these things. . . that is for the average kid. But for some youngsters, it is not second nature.

Special needs youngsters may need support to learn the things we take for granted. In your own mind, try to remember how you learned key boarding. Do you think a child with visual impairment would learn the same way? Would you expect a child with a low IQ to learn as you did? What adaptations might you make?

See? You get it already. The adaptations might be a braille key board; it might be short bursts of computer games, or many many repetitions. Each child is likely to have a little different recipe for success. That is what adaptations are all about. Of course, you might go high tech and teach the student to speak into the computer rather than learning to key board -- same difference, really.

The essence is to make the wish come true --
I wish to have friends - so teach me how to make and keep friendships.
I want to learn to cook - so find a way for me to do so safely and competently.
I want to be a teacher - and since I will never make it through a university program, help me learn to be an aide

The following list of social skills is adapted from Turnbull. These are things that we can include in a curriculum for special needs students to help them have better, more functional lives, get along with others successfully, and even gain employment more readily.

Communication skills - things to say, when to say them, how close to get to others, what to do with their hands, feet, bodies, while talking to others

Self care - hygiene, grooming, color awareness, clothing sense, wearing clothes in season, having a sense of style, appropriateness to activity

Home living skills - using the phone, taking care of clothes, staying clean, eating, cooking, staying safe in the home, stranger danger - answering the door, locking things, taking care of personal belongings

Social skills - vocabulary, spacing while communicating, table manners, knowing what to write in notes, when to write notes, call on the phone so as not to alienate others, how to know the difference between friendship and being nice

Community use - how to get a ride, OK parts of town, emergency calls, park use, times facilities are open, hours for services, places to get help, poor choices for loitering - dangerous parts of the community, when and how to display money,

Leisure - times and places for socializing, cost for activities, appropriate behavior during play or leisure, dangerous things to engage in or bad times to be involved in activities, active choices that the community finds appropriate, who to spend time with, not getting cheated, "hit upon" hurt, laughed at . . .

In addition to these things being important functions of a good transition program, there are resources in the community to help with transitions from school to adult status, from student to worker. You may already have some ideas about these. For more information, move to the next online reading.

Idea 97 makes some important strides in helping schools prepare youngsters to enter the adult world. By age 14, students are given assessments to help determine the best transitioning plan and a transition plan is written as part of the IEP.

By age 16, the IEP includes a more specific plan that includes the agencies that may be a part of securing employment, determining the need for guardianship, planning on vocational or further educational extensions.

One year before reaching adulthood, the school must be sure that the student understands IDEA, his or her rights and what it will mean to take responsibility for self as part of the IDEA team. It is not enough to just tell the student, there must be a way to show that every effort was made to help the youth understand the rights and responsibilities and it must be documented in the files.

Of course, some of us feel that students should be included in the IEP process from the time they are mere cubs.

Who should be more a part of the team than the student for whom it is developed?

E-mail J'Anne Affeld at Janne.Affeld@nau.edu
Course developed by J'Anne & Martha Affeld

Online Reading Adaptive Skills