One of the great things about the Assessment of Functional Living Skills is that it is designed to help such a wide range of people. Appropriate for those from early elementary all the way up through adulthood, this criterion-referenced assessment is designed in such a way that a number of different people can benefit from it. The Basic Living Skills Protocol analyzes essential living skills, which set the foundation in place for learners to increase their ability for success in their home, school, and community across their lifespan.
Having a daily living skills checklist is crucial and when these vital skills are mastered, it means that learners can function on a path towards independence. The AFLS is a high quality product and it’s extremely versatile. That’s why in today’s post we’d like to take a look at the curriculum for our Basic Living Skills Protocol. Keep reading to learn more.
Gain Independence in a Number of Areas
Recent statistics show that around 1 in 68 children in the United States is diagnosed with ASD, and boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls are. From self-management to basic communication to nighttime routines to health and safety, daily routines are an absolute necessity for people on the autism spectrum.
Take daily grooming habits for example. Although many of these tasks may come naturally, others may not. That’s why it’s so important to have a guide for basic living skills. For example, the AFLS checklist for daily skills might refer to a task name as “flosses teeth.” The task objective will state that the “learner will floss between all teeth.” From there, there are a number of different scored criteria. A score of 4 means that the learner flosses between all teeth. A score of 3 means that the learners flosses front teeth top and bottom. A 2 means the learner flosses all teeth with only verbal prompts. A 1 means the learner requires imitative model and minimal physical prompts to floss front teeth.
Other common daily tasks as they pertain to grooming include brushing teeth at least twice per day, regulating water temperature, washing and drying the face, cleaning eyeglasses, packing a toiletry bag for a trip, shaving legs, applying makeup, and the like.
What Other Skills Are Covered?
As we mentioned above, the Basic Living Skills protocol covers self-management, basic communication, dressing, toileting, grooming, bathing, nighttime routines, health, safety, and first aid.
Just like the example above, these areas are further broken down into categories. The section on health, safety, and first aid, for example, has tasks such as practicing water safety, reporting smoke and fire, and knowing how to respond to smoke detectors and fire alarms. In the instance of reporting smoke and fire, the task objective will be for the learner to begin to alert others and exit the building when alarms are heard. Once again, there are different criteria to use as a way to assess the learner, and there’s also a space to leave a comment such as “learner requires close supervision.”
Explore the Assessment of Functional Living Skills Today
Developing independent living skills is a process, but the AFLS is the most versatile system available thanks to the fact that it offers learners a unique pathway to independence regardless of what skills they possess and which ones they still need to learn. As a basis for developing a curriculum, it allows you to help teach in the areas that are most relevant and important for your specific needs.
Our research was designed specifically to help children with a diagnosis of autism who frequently have major deficits in their ability to perform a wide range of skills necessary for routine daily activities. These deficits in functional living skills often limit the individual’s options to participate in many family and community activities. Thankfully, many focus groups — and real-life people — have reviewed our work and provided input in order to create a dynamic tool that results in a positive outcome for everyone involved.
Be sure to take a look at some success stories for helping children with autism and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have. The AFLS system provides its users with the ability to create meaningful and successful programs that guide any individual to successful skills acquisition, and we hope you’ll find it helpful.
