Fostering Independence: Introducing Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
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Trisomy 21 UpdatePublished on
Trisomy 21 UpdateEvery day, from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep for the night, you’re performing “activities of daily living,” otherwise known as ADLs. ADLs are basic self-care tasks that we expect all individuals to master: like getting dressed and undressed, feeding yourself, brushing your teeth, taking a shower and going to the bathroom.
When your child’s occupational therapist talks about “instrumental activities of daily living,” or IADLs, they’re referring to the higher level skills that are required to not only take care of yourself, but to live independently. Examples of IADLs include activities such as meal prep, chores, cleaning, managing money and taking public transportation.
All children are raised with the goal of helping them become independent young adults. Children with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) are no exception! For parents, families, caregivers and healthcare providers who work with children with Down syndrome, it is important to maintain the expectation that all children are capable of independence.
Instrumental skills should be introduced early and incorporated into your family’s daily routine. By doing this, you can naturally provide the time, supervision and practice required for children with Down syndrome to learn and master IADLs and become as independent as possible in adulthood.
Children with Down syndrome often require specific teaching strategies, including additional time and practice, to learn new skills. This is especially important when learning more complex skills like IADLs. One great tool occupational therapists use to teach these new skills is called chaining.
Chaining breaks down a task into smaller steps to allow a child to master each individual aspect of the task. As steps are mastered, we continue adding steps until your child can independently complete the task. Both forward chaining and backward chaining can help build self-confidence and skill retention.
Below are suggested age ranges to introduce a variety of IADL skills for children with Down syndrome. All children develop differently, so choose one or two activities at a time to work on with your child.
Continue or initiate working on all skills for ages 4 to 7 if not yet mastered.
Continue or initiate working on all skills for ages 4 to 7 and 8 to 12 if not yet mastered.
Continue or initiate working on all skills for ages 4 to 7, 8 to 12, and 13 to 15 if not yet mastered.
Remember to ask about incorporating these types of skills into your child’s IEP at school for additional opportunities for your child to practice and master these life skills.
Contributed by: Jordan Porter, MS, OTR/L
Categories: Trisomy 21, Health & Wellness, Occupational Therapy