Teaching Life Skills to Special Needs Children
Did you know we have an apartment here at Cutting Edge Pediatric Therapy in Mansfield?
This “apartment” is where we help older kids learn the activities of daily living. It’s similar to a very typical one-bedroom apartment, or an efficiency apartment. And here is where we teach the kids the skills they’ll need in life!
Some of the things we can teach in this apartment include:
1. How to make a bed.
Our apartment has its own Murphy bed! It folds right down out of the wall. We can pull the bed down and teach how to make the bed, how to put on the sheets, how to put pillows in pillowcases, and how to fold everything and put the bed back up.
2. How to do laundry.
We have a working washer and dryer. Our kids learn how to take the sheets off the bed, load them into the washer, add soap, run them through a wash cycle, and then put them in the dryer.
3. How to manage food in a refrigerator.
We have a refrigerator, which we also use for our children who need feeding therapy. (Many of the things we have in our apartment are dual-purpose, and can be used for many different types of therapy.)
4. How to cook.
We have a toaster oven, which we use to teach how to make cookies! Here our kids also learn about safety, and how to not burn themselves when using an oven. Along with the toaster oven, we have a microwave, to learn to make simple meals. We also have a pantry, and we use it to teach organization skills (we keep our snacks in the pantry).
We have a toaster oven, which we use to teach how to make cookies! Here our kids also learn about safety, and how to not burn themselves when using an oven. Along with the toaster oven, we have a microwave, to learn to make simple meals. We also have a pantry, and we use it to teach about organization (we keep our snacks in the pantry).
5. How to wash dishes.
We have a fully-functioning, brand-new dishwasher! But along with that, we have a sink, where we can teach about how to hand wash dishes.
6. How to use and manage a bathroom.
Outside of the kitchen, we have a restroom. This is a very important component of the apartment because many kids need to learn not only how to use the toilet, but also how to take a shower. When we have a client who needs to learn how to use the shower he’ll put his bathing suit on, and we’ll teach him the sequence of how to put on shampoo, how to take it back off, how to scrub his body, and get out and dry off. And of course, another very important skill is how to leave a bathroom clean! We all need clean bathrooms, so we teach how to do all the housekeeping needed for a clean bathroom.
Come and take a look at our model apartment for daily living skills! We’d love to show you around and answer any questions you might have!
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