Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Summer 2004 v19 i2 p102(3) How teachers and parents can work together to teach daily living skills to children with autism.

Many individuals with autism have deficits in their ability to function independently and need extensive instruction to master daily living skills. Further, federal law requires that schools and families work together when planning transitions. This article explains three techniques (videotaped modeling, photographic or pictorial schedules, and peer / sibling tutoring) that can be used both at home and in school to teach functional daily living skills to students with autism. Examples of appropriate skills to teach with each technique are given. Due to deficits in their ability to function independently, many individuals with autism, including high-functioning autism, have poor adult outcomes. They typically experience poor occupational achievement (Peraino, 1992), and the majority need long-term sheltered care (Marcus, Kunce, & Schopler, 1997). In recognition of the importance of helping children with disabilities function successfully as adults, transition education has assumed a major role in the school curriculum. Inherent in this programmatic emphasis is the idea that schools and families should work together to teach children from an early age the dally living skills they will need to be successful as adults. The purpose of this article is to describe practical methods by which schools and the parents of children with autism can work together to teach thes