Life Skills for Life-Long Learners: Teaching Functional Skills to Elementary Students with Special Needs

Though extensive studies exist regarding teaching life skills at the middle school and high school level in special education to support transition, a comparable amount of research is still needed to support the need for the use of life skills-based programs in elementary special education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a six-week intervention using research-based practices to target specific life skills impacted 2nd - 5th grade students with moderate to severe disabilities. The skill areas that were targeted: hygiene (hand-washing), social skills (appropriate greetings) and money skills (collecting money). The life skills were worked on during a weekly coffee cart that the class had started a year prior. During the coffee cart, the students must practice proper hygiene, learn how to make coffee, collect orders, and deliver coffee to staff within the school community. This study involved a group of 7 students with varying disabilities and behavioral challenges, using video and peer modeling to enhance specific life skills twice a week, over a six-week period. This research used a mixed methods approach, utilizing multiple data forms, including classroom observations during life skills instruction and interviews with teachers and parents. The results of the study show there are many barriers special education teachers face that deter them from implementing life-skills based programs. One major barrier is the lack of life skills standards and curriculum readily available. Based on the findings, it shows evidence that the use of video and peer modeling to teach specific life skills is valuable to special education students. Keywords: special education, life skills, hygiene, social skills, money skills, mild to moderate disabilitie