Teaching Independence for Children with Special Needs

I have some students in my classroom who have autism and other diagnosed disabilities. Two of my students are non-verbal and have difficulty staying with the centers I have for other students. In addition they are non-readers. What kind of centers can I have? They can match and we do many relevant life skill activities but I don’t know what to have for centers.

My son has issues with receptive language. When I tell him something, like this morning I was trying to tell him we would have cheerios for breakfast and eggs for lunch, all he could hear was he wasn’t getting cheerios right now. I kept repeating “we will have cheerios and then eggs after” but he still was not hearing me and continued to cry and scream. I then put him on the table at eye-level and validated him by saying “I will get you cheerios” but I couldn’t explain to him that we would have eggs after. My son will be 4 in May and this is probably the most frustrating thing we deal with on a daily basis…

I have a student who frequently comes to class without her textbook. If she remembers her book, she’ll ask to go back to her locker for her folder. She always seems to be forgetting some necessary material which means she’s missing valuable class time by returning to her locker so much. How can I help her remember to bring everything she needs to class?

How do you teach a child about not talking to strangers? My 11 year old child will open the door for anyone and also will just go up to people at restaurants/malls or various events and talk to them. She will introduce them to me as her friends. I have tried to verbally explain to her not to just go up to anyone unless I am there but this has not worked.

I have a student who tends to avoid starting independent work and will put it off even with several prompts. If the student doesn’t finish in the time provided, I ask them to stay in for recess to finish in hopes that this will spur on some productivity. Are there any alternatives to missing recess to help students focus and get to work?

I teach 2nd grade in a very busy classroom.  There is one student who has major difficulty with certain academic tasks and will melt down whenever he gets frustrated.  We don’t know what to do when he gets like that – it’s very disruptive!  Sending him out of the classroom isn’t the answer.  What can I do to help him calm down?

What types of adaptive feeding equipment would allow my child to gain greater independence with her self-feeding skills?

My child has special needs and is not currently potty trained on the toilet. How will I know when they are ready to begin toilet training?

Whenever I bring a basket full of clean clothes into my son’s room and ask him to put his clothes away, he begins to yell “I can’t do this.” How can I help my son to better understand the chore and do it independently?

I’ve tried teaching my son how to empty dishwasher. He does a good job when I talk him through it, but if I’m not standing right there, he just piles everything on the counter or puts stuff in the wrong place. I’m not sure if he is just being lazy or if he really doesn’t understand the task. How can I help him be more independent and accurate?