Social and self help skills for special Needs Children

1. Abdul Aziz Ch
Certified Success Coach
Certified Youth Trainer
Certified Wellness Coach
Special Educationist

2. Definition
Self-help skills enable children to
meet his own needs and involve
activities and behaviors that
eventually lead to independence.

3. What are Self-Help Skills?
 Self-help skills are the basic skills needed for
daily living. They are the skills children use in
everyday tasks such as feeding themselves,
brushing their teeth, dressing themselves and
more.
 The development of self-help skills should
begin in infancy and continue throughout
childhood into the teenage years.
 when they eventually succeed, this creates
feelings of self-worth and of being capable.

4. Self-Help Skills
 Self-help skills are those skills that are
necessary for a person to care for himself and
manage his own needs.
Self-help skills can include
 Physical Skills such as dressing or bathing, and
they can include
 Mental and Emotional Skills such as knowing
when to use the restroom, showing kindness to
others, and offering to help around the house.
 The development of self-help skills is
necessary for a child's future independence.

5. Why are Self-Help Skills Important for
Children?
Self-help skills are important as they offer opportunities
for children to:
 Begin to plan and sequence a task.
 Further develop fine-motor control (e.g. buttons and zips)
 Build self-esteem and independence.
 Being able to accomplish daily tasks it builds self-
worth and the feeling of being capable, both leading to
an independent child.
 Learning self-help skills in a supportive environment
offers children an opportunity to develop a sense of
competence which leads to increasing independence.

6. Self Help Skills
 Skills such as
 Dressing on his own
 Learning how to set a table
 Pouring his own juice
 Express growing maturity.
 However, self-help skills also involve
emotional and cognitive growth, such as…
 Learning to express anger with words rather
than throwing a toy,
 Respecting property of others and some day
learning to read a book without your help.

7. 1. Self-Care Life Skills: Self
Feeding
Teaching a child to scoop can start with
scooping globule, noodles etc.

8. 2. Self-Care Life Skills: Self Dressing
Self-dressing is a skill best learned at home,
it is often the task of the special educator to
help parents teach their children to dress
themselves.
 The order at home might be:
 Shorts, Shirt, Socks, Shoes, Belt

9. 3.Self-Care Life Skills: Toilet
Training
Toilet training is usually something that
school will support rather than initiate and
teach.
It is often the job of the special educator to
support the actual efforts the parents are
making.
That may be included in accommodations of
the child's IEP, requiring the teacher or the
teaching staff to place the child on the toilet
at certain timed intervals.

10. 4. Self-Care Life Skills: Tooth
Brushing
 Tooth brushing is a skill you can both
teach and support at school.

11. 5. Self-Care Life Skills: Bathing
Bathing is a task that will happen at
home. you can also help parents create a
visual schedule to support the student's
independence.

12. 6. Self-Care Life Skills: Shoe
Tying
Shoe tying is one of the most difficult
skill to teach a child with disabilities.

13. Occupational Therapists
Role
Occupational therapists help children with
special needs to become physically,
psychologically, and socially independent by
working towards specific goals.
For special needs children who have difficulty
brushing their teeth, an occupational therapist
might teach steps towards achieving this
goal. These steps might be broken down into
very small pieces, such as reaching out their
hands, touching the toothbrush, grasping the
toothbrush, picking up the brush, and so forth.

14. Ideas to Encourage Self-Help
Skills
 There are many things we can do to
encourage children to learn self-help skills.
The most important, however, is to be
patient, while providing support and
encouragement.
 “Children’s confidence grows through
opportunities to try new things in a safe and
supportive environment with lots of positive
reinforcement for their success .

15. TOP FOUR TYPES OF SELF-HELP
SKILLS
 1.Feeding
 2.Independent Dressing and Grooming
 3.Toileting, Hygiene and Personal Care
 4.Tasks, Organizing Belongings

16. 1.Feeding
(e.g. eating finger-food, drinking from a cup, correctly handling
cutlery)
 Once infants are sitting, start offering finger food.
 Provide a cup with a handle and spout, and later a
straw.
 Use unbreakable bowls to facilitate self-feeding.
 Initially cut food into manageable sizes.
 Purchase child-sized tools.
 Prepare yourself for the mess, put a drop-sheet
under the high-chair, find a bib that works, be
patient.

17. 2.Independent Dressing and
Grooming
 Encourage child to pull off their socks.
 Teach lift arms to the sky to help remove shirt.
 After toileting encourage your child to pull up pants or shorts.
 Buy child-sized brush and comb.
 Look for toys with buttons, zips and clips to practice doing up.
 Allow extra time so children can dress themselves without
pressure.

18. 3.Toileting, Hygiene and Personal
Care
 Look for signs of toileting readiness, facial
expressions, gestures.
 Help your child to climb up onto and off a toilet
seat.
 Encourage your child to pull clothing up and
down.
 Model washing hands thoroughly and
independently.

19. 4.Tasks, Organizing
Belongings
 Encourage children to pack away own belongings
 Give responsibility of putting safe items on the
table.
 Encourage to set a table independently.
 Encourage them to clear up own plate and cup
after every meal.
 Have shelving, containers, baskets where your
children can put away their belongings.
 Encourage child to help pack a bag.
 Assign age-appropriate jobs to each child.

20. Important Things to
Remember
There are a few things to remember which will make
learning self-help skills less frustrating and more likely to be
a success.
 The best approach is to first do a little research and discover
what the age-related expectations are for your child.
 Provide age-appropriate experiences for your child.
 Encourage your child to be as independent as possible by
allowing and encouraging them to take responsibility.
 Let children attempt to learn self-help skills on their own,
when appropriate.
 Encourage them when they overcome a hurdle and show
them you trust they have the ability to cope.

21. CON….
 Encourage children to try new tasks for
themselves but provide help and encouragement
when needed so they don't get frustrated.
 Celebrate children’s successes and progress.
Feeling capable increases self-worth.
 There is a difference between helping children
and helping children to help themselves.
 Teachers are important role-models; remember
that your child is watching everything you do. Set
a good example.

23. Skill Set Used For Examples
FOUNDATION
SKILLS
Basic social
interaction
Ability to maintain Eye Contact,
Maintain appropriate personal space,
understand gestures and facial expressions
INTERACTION
SKILLS
Skills needed to
interact with others
Resolving conflicts,
Learning how to begin and end conversations,
Determining appropriate topics for
Conversation, Interacting with Authority
figures
AFFECTIVE
SKILLS
Skills needed for
understanding
oneself and others
Identifying one's feelings,
Recognizing the feelings of others,
Demonstrating empathy,
Decoding body language and facial
expressions,
Determining whether someone is trustworthy
COGNITIVE
SKILLS
Skills needed to
maintain more
complex social
interactions
Social perception,
Making choices
Self Monitoring, Understanding Social Norms
Determining appropriate behavior for different
social situations.

24. Types of Social Skills Deficit
 Basic Communication Skills
 Empathy and Rapport Skills
 Interpersonal Skills
 Problem Solving Skills
 Accountability