Daily Living Skills
Client age: 5
Learning target: Tolerating waiting for 10s
Context: You're in the kitchen at the client's home helping them with making a snack.
Pause between steps of making
Pause before going to the pantry/fridge
Have the client wait at the table while you bring the food over
Ask the client to wait while you wash something
Client age: 4
Learning target: Greeting others
Context: You're in the clinic and multiple staff members are available throughout the session. Client is interested in others but shy.
Deliver items to staff
Walk past staff throughout the clinic
Have staff enter and leave the room
Bring the client with you when checking in with others
Client age: 5
Learning Target: Locating missing items
Context: The client immediately asks adults where things are instead of searching independently.
Put a preferred toy in a commonly used location but not its usual location
Leave clues around the room for a scavenger hunt
Put part of an activity in another room
Play hide and seek toys
"Accidentally" leave materials in a likely place the client can find
Client age: 3
Learning Target: Requesting help
Context: You're playing with a highly preferred toy during NET.
Tight containers
Stuck toy pieces
Missing batteries
Place desired items in difficult-to-access locations
Client age: 3
Learning Target: Turn taking
Context: The client likes bubbles and will readily approach you during play. You are in the clinic.
Roll a ball back and forth
Go to the motor room and take turns going down the slide with a peer
Take turns throwing a ball into a basket
Alternate who gets to knock down a block tower
Take turns popping bubbles
Client age: 8
Learning target: Requesting help
Context: You're making a craft together. The client already independently requests help from you, but not from others.
Give necessary materials to another person/peer
Place materials closer to others so it's more logical to ask THEM and not you
Walk away or pretend to be busy so they need to ask assistance from someone else
Sabotage your support e.g. make it ineffective, so they have to ask someone else
Client age: 7
Learning target: Asking peers to play
Context: The client typically waits for peers to initiate interactions.
Put preferred activities near peer groups
Have a peer hold part of a game or a toy that is part of what we are doing
Set up activities that require a partner and then be busy
Arrange turn-taking games and make them "kid only"
Client age: 10
Learning target: Independently solving small problems
Context: You have session at home. Their Nintendo switch is dead, they lost the game pieces for their favorite board game and they said they're hungry.
Make indirect comments about what they said but don't make any actions (e.g. didn't you say you were hungry? without directly client to the kitchen)
Act like a pre-teen and complain about things e.g. man I wanna play switch ugggggg
Tell a story about how one time you played a game with random toys as the game pieces and it was so cool
Make a comment about how your phone died and then you had to plug it in
Client age: 7
Learning Target: Requesting information ("Where?", "Who?", "When?")
Context: The client can answer questions but rarely asks them.
Hide a highly preferred item
Mention an exciting upcoming activity without details
Make indirect comments e.g. Man I wish someone would ask me my dog's name
Have another staff member arrive unexpectedly and look at them confused
Reference something without saying where it is
Client age: 4
Learning target: Trying new activities
Context: Client always chooses the same toy.
Remove access to the highly preferred toy and only put out novel items (if they can handle this)
Provide access to the preferred one alongside novel activities
Make new toys look super cool by playing with them in fun, exaggerated ways
Client age: 12
Learning target: Independently completely chores - Initiate helping with groceries
Context: The client is watching TV and mom is on her way home with groceries and knows not to prompt him when she comes in.
Talk about how much you love when someone helps you with putting away groceries
Ask/talk about whether mom likely bought certain things to spark interest
Start talking about chores and helping around the house
Ask where mom is/when she will be back/what she's doing
Client age: 5
Learning target: Knocking before entering
Context: The client willingly follows you around the clinic but has a tendency to burst into rooms when doors are closed.
Visit staff offices to say hi
Deliver materials to peers in private rooms
Check if a room is available
Knock on bathroom doors before entering
Play hide and seek toys and shut all the doors
Play pretend house and have the client be the mail delivery person or a friend coming to visit
Client age: 9
Learning target: Identifying when someone needs help
Context: You have home sessions and the client has multiple siblings.
Carry too many items
Pretend you can't reach something
Have another person need assistance (peer)
Be ineffective/struggle during a task the client is not familiar with
Drop materials during an activity
Client age: 11
Learning Target: Requesting clarification
Context: The client frequently guesses when they don't understand directions.
Give an ambiguous direction
Reference an item using a vague description
Present multiple possible choices
Present conflicting choices or things that don't make sense (e.g. yeah after dinner we can all 4 of us ride your bike to the store)
Use instructions that require additional information to complete
Client age: 6
Learning target: Flexible play
Context: Client plays with one toy in only one way.
Be neutral during traditional play and exaggeratedly excited during a novel play activity
Play parallel to client but model a new way to play while laughing/making comments about your enjoyment
Offer similar but new materials and place them nearby
Client age: 16
Learning target: Self-advocacy with non-preferred routine activities (e.g. express displeasure)
Context: The client is capable of completing a routine independently but frequently receives unnecessary prompts from adults.
Create very exaggerated options e.g. would you rather do chores for 4 hours or make your bed once?
Go to extremes - if client says they don't mind vacuuming (but you know they don't like it), you could suggest lots and lots of vacuuming (never actually having them do it)
Model your dislike of a chore or activity parallel to the client to encourage for them to "vent" too
Client age: 11
Learning target: Identifying when someone is frustrated
Context: You're playing games and engaging in NET activities with the client at home.
Pretend game pieces won't work
Lose a game
Keep missing a shot during soccer/basketball
Struggle opening something
Make small mistakes during activities
Client age: 14
Learning Target: Solving interpersonal problems
Context: The client can identify when a problem exists but often relies on adults to solve social conflicts for them.
Have another staff member accidentally take a needed item or be in the way
Create situations where two people want the same activity, same space to sit, etc.
Intentionally create scheduling preferences that conflict (e.g. if client wants to go outside, you don't want to right now)
Use cooperative activities where team members must negotiate roles (e.g. But I wanted to be the team captain...)
Client age: 13
Learning Target: Identifying and communicating emotions
Context: Home session. You need the client to identify when someone is nervous without using emotion cards or direct teaching.
Pretend you're worried about something happening later
Watch a suspenseful movie clip together
Act uncertain about the outcome of a game
Have a family member participate in a mildly anxiety-producing situation
Client age: 9
Learning target: Commenting during activities
Context: Client enjoys leisure activities but rarely comments spontaneously.
Use surprising events and model reaction statements
Make big sounds, impacts and then give them a turn to do it
Introduce unusual objects
Model different expressions throughout the session
Create silly outcomes
Pause during exciting moments
Client age: 7
Learning target: Tolerating natural consequences and recovering from mistakes
Context: The client becomes embarrassed when mistakes are noticed by others. Staff usually intervene immediately to prevent errors because the client will become aggressive if they get embarrassed.
Context: Allow the client to make a mistake in front of you when it is just the two of you to minimize the audience
First model inability to do something way too hard like untying a very difficult knot, then give the client an opportunity to try
Play a game/quiz that is slightly too difficult or unknown so they get some questions wrong
Beat them in a game or knock out one of their characters (e.g. if playing sorry and you have the choice to send them home, DO IT)
If client says something offensive, say you didn't like it and let it sit in the air for a minute to allow them time to respond
Client age: 12
Learning target: Perspective taking
Context: The client can identify emotions when they're obvious but struggles understanding what people might be thinking in real situations or in the moment.
Play a role play game with situations/characters they like expressing different emotions and act out WHY you're upset to have the client ID it
Use 3 past events that happened to the client and discuss the likely perspective from the others
Talk about a recent event from your own life (real or made up) and ask the client for help or advice
Watch clips from preferred shows or even tik toks or reels to find examples of emotions and why the person felt that way
Watch a video clip with no audio and try to decipher what happened and why
Look at perspective taking prompt pictures online and each come up with your own explanation for what is happening
Client age: 17
Learning target: Identifying triggering problems before escalation
Context: A highly verbal client often notices issues only after becoming upset.
Cheat during a game (but make it pretty obvious)
State a fact/issue incorrectly
Exaggerate emotions or attitudes e.g. act REALLY bored or annoyed during an activity
Keep pausing their show to make comments or ask questions
Interrupt them during activities or tasks
Client age: 15
Learning target: Appropriate disagreement
Context: The client almost always agrees with adults. Staff are worried that intentionally creating disagreement could lead to arguing or escalation.
Label something as their favorite when you know it isn't
Disagree with them on something obvious (e.g. wow it's so sunny today, but its rainy) or important but low stakes (aw you love Daniel Tiger, but he actually likes real tigers)
Client age: 8
Learning target: Coping with losing
Context: The client becomes highly aggressive when losing. They sometimes will head bang severely if they really liked the game. Staff frequently let the client win or avoid competitive activities altogether.
Set up a contingency for the loser getting something fun e.g. If we win we get some water, if we lose though we get to make the winner do a funny dance
Play a game without materials so destruction is not an option e.g. rock paper scissors or a race, freeze dance, etc.
Role play losing games by acting out good and bad losers in other activities e.g. charades, when playing games and pretending, etc.