Life Skills and Self-Care

Life skills, also referred to as Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are occupational self-care tasks, or the tasks that make up day-to-day living. “Occupational self-care” may refer to many things. Occupational therapists help individuals to increase their participation and independence in daily activities that are part of a functional life.

One of those important daily tasks is personal self-care, or the ability to care for one’s own being. For children, this may involve a variety of tasks from getting dressed by themselves to toileting - All of these include daily occupational self-care tasks!

As children grow, self-care becomes an increasingly important part of a child’s daily routine as they gain independence and confidence in taking care of themselves.

Self-care tasks may be learned at a different pace by every child. Self-care skills can be especially difficult for children to obtain as they require a variety of skill components. These skills may be particularly difficult for children with developmental delays, such as autism spectrum disorder or cerebral palsy.

When a child demonstrates difficulty completing self-care skills occupational therapy can help build independence, confidence, and ease of these skills.

A child’s occupational performance in ADLs is dependent on the child’s age and stage of development. The self-care and performance in ADLs changes from infancy to adolescence, through adulthood. Each of these stages will involve different components and abilities when it comes to performance and skills. See below for a more detailed description of skills based on a child’s age.

Infancy:

Infant self-care skills involve receiving nurture from parents, guardians, and caregivers. Self-sufficiency includes primitive reflexes and accepting self-care. Family participation is a vital part of participation in ADLs during infancy. An infant responds to nurture provided by their caregiver and accepts nourishment received from their caregiver. An infant is learning to move and communicate. During the infant stage, babies gain more independent control of their bodies as they learn to move in daily tasks.

Toddlers:

For toddlers, self-care continues to involve acceptance of the self-care routines and nurture provided by parents or guardians. However, you may begin to notice more independence as well as a toddler demonstrating preferences and willingness to participate in life activities. Toddlers continue to refine the skills they have started to gain over the first 2 years of life. Increased independence and self-sufficiency is beginning to be seen in washing, eating, dressing, and toileting.

Childhood:

As children reach the ages of 6-12, they continue to participate in occupational roles as a son or daughter, student, and friend. As a child grows, they begin to take on additional self-care roles as well as adaptive behaviors. This includes continuing to gain independence and self-sufficiency in daily routines, such as brushing their teeth without being told or dressing themselves before school in the morning. Children also continue to develop preferences in self-care, such as hairstyles or clothing choices.

Adolescence:

As children develop into adolescents between 13-19, they continue to grow independence and self-sufficiency in daily tasks. Adolescents continue to grow in their continued occupational roles as a son or daughter, student, and friend; Adolescents may also gain more occupational roles, including a teammate, an employee, a driver, or a volunteer. At this age, adolescents should be demonstrating mastery or complete independence of ADLS. They may grow their self-expression and participation in building relationships. These skills help an adolescent prepare for independent living, and efficient self-care skills will support the transition.

Occupational therapists are highly trained to assist children in developing the necessary skills to complete activities that support daily functioning and participation. Our occupational therapists design interventions to address a child’s individual needs, including any diagnoses or functional deficits.

An occupational therapist may utilize a variety of interventions in order to support a child’s performance, participation, and independence in daily living skills, self-care, and activities.

Typically, teaching these skills requires more than just telling a child the steps of what needs to be done. Often, an occupational therapist will use strategies including repeated modeling, and visual aids to assist in memory and sequencing skills, as well as other compensatory methods such as adaptive equipment or modifying a task.

Our experienced occupational therapists are experts in utilizing a variety of treatment approaches to ensure children can perform daily tasks to the best of their abilities.

Our pediatric occupational therapy services prioritize cultivating independence in essential life skills. With a focus on self-care, our dedicated therapists guide children in mastering fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing, and daily routines.

Our holistic approach addresses a variety of skills needed for increasing a child’s ability and independence in participating in self-care and activities of daily living. This may include addressing fine motor skill development for tasks like dressing and grooming, while also enhancing gross motor skills for activities requiring balance and coordination.

Improving sensory integration needs can also ensure a positive experience during self-care routines, promoting comfort and confidence.