FUNCTIONAL SKILLS

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
Updated November 4, 2017

Functional skills refer to the skills that students learn that provide them with the opportunity to work, play, socialize, and take care of personal needs to the highest level possible. When a student has developmental delays in addition to a visual impairment, or has multiple disabilities, they will typically follow a modified curriculum.  The curriculum should help ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities are provided with multiple ways to learn and demonstrate knowledge. Students’ needs and abilities will generally vary greatly within the classroom designed for students with multiple disabilities.

Students who are blind or visually impaired, require adaptations to the curriculum that address their unique learning needs but this is especially true for students with multiple disabilities.  All students with disabilities, and especially those who are blind or visually impaired, will need concrete experiences, unifying experiences and opportunities to learn by doing within a natural setting. The majority students with multiple disabilities will need more time than sighted peers to acquire developmental skills. Students with visual impairments will need particular assistance with those skills acquired primarily through vision. ​

Age Appropriate

It is important to provide instruction that is developmentally appropriate and age appropriate. Using real materials is a way to make instruction more age appropriate for older students. For example, a 13 year old student may be functioning at a 8 month old developmental level, but it is hardly appropriate to provide them with an infant/toddler toy to entertain themselves. It is much more appropriate to locate materials that have similar features the student is interested in, but are age appropriate. It is also important when developing lessons and activities, to asses the student's unique needs and incorporate their IEP goals and objectives naturally and systematically throughout the day. Setting up stations will help encourage exploration and active participation in classroom activities. This is  because students will know where they can find activity areas and materials.

Natural Environments

It is ideal to teach skills with natural and familiar environments or settings where the student can anticipate activities naturally. Teaching the skills within the environments where the skills will be used is critical as many students with multiple disabilities are not able generalize skills across environments. The activities will be much more meaningful when they are practiced within natural contexts.  

Support Participation

For students with cognitive disabilities, provide simple, clear verbal directions and break tasks down into parts that can be easily accomplished. Simplify tasks by reducing the number of steps, using backward chaining, spiraling, and plenty of modeling and cues. If necessary, physically guide student through the task and then gradually fade support.

As students become successful, you can then begin adding steps to the task. Select the activities based on skills the student needs to work on, but also be sure to make it fun and allow students to be successful. Simplify the language that you use with students. Short phrases repeated in a rhythmic cadence or sung to a familiar tune can be effective for communicating directions. 

Meaningful Activities

Learning activities should be meaningful to the student and be relevant to their world. Different approaches will need to be used for all areas of the curriculum.  It is ideal to teach skills that are functional. Consider the functionality of the skill and focus on those that will lead to the greatest independence possible. Students can and should still be exposed to print and/or braille when at all possible, but a focus should be on the environmental print/braille that the student will need and will encounter.

Learning activities should be developed to accommodate differences in abilities and interests. Use positive reinforcements. For students with ADHD, provide a consistent environment to learn rules and self control. Be specific about behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable. Concentrate on "catching the student being good." Reward with praise, privilege or stickers/stamps.

Communication-Rich Environment and Functional Literacy

All students need to be provided with an opportunity to be as literate as they are capable. Current legislation and research indicate that teachers must teach every student to read. Beginning reading instruction continues to be necessary for older students with developmental disabilities. The "No Child Left Behind Act" clearly states that all students must receive this instruction throughout their academic careers.

It is important as the student advances in years to think about transitioning the focus to functional skills and functional literacy. For an older student who is still reading at an emergent or beginning reading level, focus should be on learning environmental print or label associations that is functional and will assist them in becoming as independent as possible. ​For students unable to learn environmental print, a means of communication is important. Read more on creating communication symbols on the Individual Schedules and Communication Cards page.

     Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." 
​- Bernice Johnson Reagon

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TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.


In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included:
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist


For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page.


TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details
·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font)
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements
The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.  


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Product Page.


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement
The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency & Maintenance Product Page


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement
The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. 


Additional Use:
Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


BONUS!
Lotto Cards
The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC.


On My Way File Folder Cards
Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27.

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Note:
All products are digital pdf downloads. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number. If you encounter any difficulty, please let me know and I can assist you.

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