Caring for an individual with developmental disabilities requires a lot of patience and understanding. Because of the nature of developmental disabilities, it is common for an individual's physical needs to not match with his mental needs. Therefore, guidance is needed to meet his needs while still allowing him to be an individual with personal preferences. By providing a predictable schedule and teaching choice-making skills, you will allow a person with developmental disabilities to gain the ability to advocate for themselves and become as independent as possible.
Instructions
Developing a Schedule
1. Figure out the major activities that occur daily. When doing this, it's helpful to think about the major transitions throughout the day. This is especially true when a person is being asked to stop a desired activity to move to something that is less desirable.
2. Set up a daily schedule. This can be done using words, pictures or objects, depending on what the person using the schedule understands. When deciding what activities need to be done when, it's important to consider the personal preferences of the person using the schedule. For example, if she likes to have breakfast before getting dressed, that's how her schedule should be developed.
3. Follow the schedule consistently. By doing so, the person with developmental disabilities will learn what the schedule means. It will also help him become more independent and less anxious because he will begin to understand what is going to happen next.
Teaching Choice-Making Skills
4. Give control to the person with developmental disabilities. This means allowing her to make choices whenever possible. By learning to do this, she will be able to advocate for herself and have certain needs met that might otherwise remain unnoticed.
5. Offer two desirable choices. Whichever one the individual chooses is the one he should receive. By offering two choices that are both desirable, the person will begin to learn the skill in a positive way.
6. Make one option a less desired item. Be consistent and only allow the person to have the chosen item. Doing this will teach her to pay attention and that the choice she makes has a real consequence.
7. Respect his choice. It's hard not to have preconceived notions of what the person will want to choose; however, people sometimes surprise us. It's important that a when a person with developmental disabilities makes a decision, that the decision is respected. If that is not possible, avoid offering a choice.
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