Creating a pathway to independence often starts at home. For those with autism spectrum disorder, daily tasks like preparing meals, doing dishes, washing clothing, and keeping up with housekeeping and chores can be a challenge. The Assessment of Functional Living Skills offers the essential skills needed for functional living. Whether the learner is living withRead More
A Few Pointers For Fostering Independence in Adults with Disabilities
At Functional Living Skills, our mission is to help teach children, adolescents, and adults with developmental disabilities. Fostering the skills they need to gain independence is a unique road to travel, but the AFLS helps learners gain the skills they need for independence in everyday life. That’s why in today’s post, we’d like to shareRead More
What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Did you know that about one in 68 children in the United States has an ASD, according to the CDC? Additionally, boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls. The reality is that there’s actually quite a bit of confusion over what the autism spectrum even is. Who better to sum itRead More
The Importance of A Daily Living Skills Checklist
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 fromRead More
A Look at Functional Living Skills
A pathway to independence for learners with developmental disabilities, Functional Living Skills is designed to help provide resources to those who need them. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (also known as ASD) tend to have difficulty in some areas and success in others. Because every person is unique, our goal is to provide people withRead More
Developing and Evaluating IEPs for Individuals with Autism
Your child has a lot to gain from having a well-structured, individualized education program (IEP). An effective IEP can be the difference between your child acquiring a few skills versus several, very impactful ones. This blog will focus on aspects that will help you to select the most appropriate teaching objectives for your child. TheRead More
Teaching Functional Living Skills to Individuals With Autism
Dr. Partington tells his clients, “Whatever you don’t teach him, long term, you will have to either do it for him or pay somebody else to do it for him.” Take a second to think about the implications of this quote. This could include financial dependency and also a major time commitment from the parent. Read More
Measuring Outcomes of Parents Teaching Functional Skills to Their Son With Autism Using the Assessment of Functional Living Skills the AFLS®
James W. Partington, Ph.D., BCBA-D Behavior Analysts, Inc. Walnut Creek, CA Lisa Squadere-Watson Parent of Child with ASD Abstract Children with a diagnosis of autism 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 optionsRead More
Shifting Greater Emphasis on Functional Skills
Many young children with developmental delays benefit from the strategy of placing a major focus on teaching critical language and other basic learning skills (e.g., imitation skills). The methods used to teach various “concepts” typically involves mastering multiple examples of arbitrarily chosen targets until the learner can demonstrate knowledge of this skill. When learning enoughRead More
You Get More With Sugar Than You Do With Vinegar… Notes on Advocacy for Parents of Children on the Spectrum
By Lisa Squadere-Watson, Parent used with permission from Different Roads to Learning www.difflearn.com Everyone has a story about how their child came to be labeled with an autism spectrum diagnosis. Most are heartbreaking tales that make any parent shiver. However, one of the most important topics that should be discussed is how we as parentsRead More
