How to Teach Daily Living Skills to Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Book excerpt: As hard as it might be to imagine, there are people working in the social services field who aren't as well trained as they might be. This doesn't mean that they work for a "bad" agency or that we need to change the whole service delivery system. It means that those staff people need more training. Training in what? This book introduces readers to a wide range of principles used in teaching daily living skills to adults with developmental disabilities - including understanding the basics of behavior, assessing behaviors, writing plans, instructional processes, reinforcement, behavior management tips, data collection, ethical issues, and much more. It is written in a conversational tone rather than a textbook format, so it's like having a conversation with someone who has "been there and done that." This is an idea generating book designed to get you thinking about the service you provide the clients in your program.