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I AM SAM
 Functional Skills
What are they?

● Definition of Functional Skills Curriculum

A Functional Skills Curriculum is child-centered not curriculum-centered. It is a process where the teacher makes decisions and selects
experiences for the student to gain the skills he will need to become as competent as possible in the regular environment as an adult. The
process changes as the needs of the student being taught change. The acquisition becomes more essential as the student gets closer to
graduation, but it is an approach to instruction that should begin in elementary grades. It is a curricula in which the student learns functional
skills in the most appropriate setting for specific skill acquisition and focuses on present and future needs.

● Definition of Functional Skills

Functional skills are the variety of skills which are frequently demanded in natural domestic, vocational, and community environments.
Nonfunctional skills are those which have an extremely low probability of being required by daily activities. Functional skills are built around
real life experiences. The skills involve cooperation between students and teachers in the planning of learning experiences.
LINC, Designing A Functional Curriculum for Students with Disabilities, 1991-92.

● Definition of Functional Activities

Instructional programs should be built around functional activities that involve skills of immediate usefulness to students and employ
teaching materials which are real. Activities center on small groups or individuals. The activities often include teams of teachers guiding
students through active participation.
LINC, 1991-92.
 When do we need functional skills?
● Determining if an Activity is Functional
• How frequently is the activity performed?
• Will the activity increase the independence of the student?
• Is the activity performed in a variety of natural settings?
• Is the vocational task one which someone would pay the student to do?
• Will the performance of the activity reflect the student as competent?
• Is the skill likely to be naturally reinforced?
• Is the child can't do it will someone have to do it for him/her?
Brown, l., Falvey, M., Vincent, L., Kaye, N., Johnson, F., Ferrara-Parish, P., & Gruenewald, L. (1980). Journal of Special Education, 14(2), 199-215.

● Purpose of a Functional Curriculum

To prepare students to participate more fully in society with a greater degree of success during the school years as well as in
adulthood.
LINC, 1991-92.
One of the goals of education is to prepare students for their lives as adults. To do that teachers and parents must be prepared to ask
and answer tough questions such as.......
What is s/he going to do?
Where will s/he live?
Where will s/he work?
Who will be his/her friends?
Who can help him/her?
What should his/her school program consist of to make the most of the time in school?
Brown, et al., 1980.

● Benefits of a Functional Curriculum

It contributes to the quality of life and enables students to participate as fully as possible in major life areas by:
• Assisting with transition into adulthood
• Enhancing generalization of learning
• Meeting the needs of the individual
• Providing meaningful education, based on real-life experiences
• Building on the needs of adulthood beginning in elementary school
LINC, 1991-92.
 Who needs the functional
curriculum?

Type of Students Who May Need a Functional Curriculum

• Moderately to severely disabled
• Mildly Learning Disabled
• Physical Impaired
• Deaf
• Blind
• Severely Speech/Language Impaired
• Been identified as potential dropouts
• All students who need another way of learning in order to
apply skills to the real world
LINC, 1991-92.
 Instruction

Instructional Domains
The following areas are those which directly prepare a student to function in the real
world: Self-Management/Home Living, Vocational, Recreation/Leisure and Community
Functioning. Embedded in the daily activities are also the following areas: social,
communication, academics and motor.

Focus of Instruction
A major perspective in teaching functional skills is that the skills taught should be age-
appropriate and that these skills will increase the student's ability to function in present
and future environments. The age-appropriate scope and sequence charts provide goal
areas for varying age/grade levels. These areas are ones that may be critical for post
school performance. However, although a goal may be instructed at each level, the
degree of emphasis on that goal may be different at different age/grade levels.
Criteria for Determining if Skills are Functional:

Educational goals on IEPs should:

____ reflect the general education curriculum (e.g., math, language arts,
science, social studies, art, music, PE, or other academic subject)
____ be a communication skill or social behavior that will enhance the
student’s ability to:
____ communicate what he or she knows
____ understand information
____ communicate socially with peers
____ participate with peers in and out of the classroom.
____ be a specific job skill identified as a real possibility for employment after
school (if the student is age 14 or older)
____ be a skill that increases the student’s self-advocacy or participation as an
independent learner in school
 Criteria for selecting other skills as “functional”
for the student should be:
1. Age-Appropriate
●Is the skill and the materials and methods used to teach the skill appropriate for the chronological age of the

student?

2. Required now
●If the student does not perform the skill, will an adult or another person have to do it for him/her? Or is there an
alternative to performing the task?

3. Required as an adult
●Will this be an important skill that will be required for community participation or for interactions with peers when
the student is an adult?

4. Usefulness
Will the student have the opportunity to use the skill in other places and at other times?
●

5. Student and Family Preference

●Does the student and the family want the student to learn and use this skill?

6. Enhancement of the Student’s Status

Will this skill increase the student’s likelihood for:
●

___ increased social contacts/relationships

___ physical well-being
___ social status and appearance of competence?

7. Expands Community Participation

Does the skill enable the student to access more places in the community and participate meaningfully?
●

8. Probability of Acquisition
Is it likely that the student will acquire this skill in the school year?
●
 Example FUNCTIONAL LIFE SKILLS
For school age students
GENERAL SCHOOL PARTICIPATION
Communication/Social Interaction:
Have a communication system
Ask for help/assistance when needed
Respond to verbal directions
Initiate greetings
Respond to social greetings and verbal initiations of others
Answer questions
Follow routines
Follow directions
Adapting to change in routines
Safety/fire drill procedures
Appropriate appearance
Wears clothing appropriate to the weather (consistent with peers)
Adjusts and fastens clothing to cover self appropriately (consistent with peers and school rules)
Maintains an appearance that is groomed (consistent with peers and unlikely to subject student to
criticism)
Movement around the school
Travel and/or wait in line
Carry belongings
Know and travel to various locations (cafeteria, office, library, auditorium, etc.)

●
 Gym/Physical Education

Change clothes
Use locker (manipulate lock, store and retrieve
items)
Line-up and stay in line
Wait turn
Use math skills (counting, ordinal positions)
Use reading skills (sight words, directions,
diagrams)
Stay in one place
Use eye-hand coordination
Know and follow safety rules
 Media

Know and find books in A, B, C order

Put books and other library materials away
Access and use computer
Know and follow Numerical order
Categorize
Hold a book and turn pages
Follow, find, respond to sight words
Know identification number
Follow rules for whispering or being quiet
Research skills
Choose an interest and know how to locate information in interest area
Use AV equipment (operate projector, start/stop buttons, etc.)
Attend quietly to speaker
Extended listening
Visual tracking (video)
General Classroom Participation

Know and travel to classroom(s), assigned seat in room(s)

Follow/keep on schedule/times of day
Participate in opening procedures
Have and be able to locate needed supplies (organization)
Class behavioral expectations for participation
raising hand
waiting
appropriate voice volume
Use appropriate social skills for group interactions
Wait in line
Wait turn
Ask questions on topic of class activity
Speak/communicate to whole group
Use a computer (with adaptations as needed)
Complete tasks and know what to do when done
Reading, writing, math skills (for application in subject areas)
 Cafeteria

Use acceptable eating manners

Demonstrate personal hygiene (wipe hands, face)
Eating skills
Carry trays of food
Use acceptable social skills (greetings, departures, respect personal space)
Social communication skills (don’t interrupt, follow conversation topic, etc.)
Open/close containers
Use money skills (select amounts, make change)
Making food choices (balanced meal)
Read a menu
Clean up after eating
Time Management: eat within assigned time frame
Use vending machines (choice, insert money, manipulate selector, retrieve item)
Wait (in line, after eating)
 After School Activities

Greet peers
Occupy self with age-appropriate leisure activity
Know personal information (phone numbers, address, parents’ name, etc.)
Cooperate with others in small group
Wait your turn
Follow directions
Use reading, writing, math skills related to activity
Follow schedule
Identify time for departure or change in routine
Social and hygiene skills related to eating
Complete play task/activity
Arrange transportation (to go home following after-school activity)
Follow rules for games
Locate appropriate areas for targeted activities
Follow safety procedures
 Hallway/Changing Classes
Respect others’ interpersonal space
Greet others
Follow “unwritten” rules
Follow written directions
Following a schedule
Be on time to classes/activities
Know where to go to next location on schedule
Locate bathrooms
Use locker (recognize numbers, manipulate lock, store and retrieve items)
Use a map
Read and identify numbers (lockers/classrooms)
Read signs (office, restrooms, etc.)
Use appropriate language and voice level
Mobility
use stairs
deal with obstacles
deal with unpredictable situations
follow safety procedures during emergencies
Seek assistance if lost
Walk with someone (pacing)