September is Self-Improvement Month
Use “Self-Improvement Month” to get your students on the right foot for school—and life. It can often be difficult for students with special needs to keep their lives organized and efficient. This free lesson from Daily Living Skills can help your students begin the school year with a new set of healthy lifestyle choices. Self-Improvement Starts with Small Steps This free lesson begins with the basics. But these are the foundation on which all other skills rest. A healthy
Affordability Factors
You hear about the “affordability crisis” everywhere today. But what is it, and how do we teach teens with special needs about affordability? Here is a free lesson breaking down the key components of affordability for students with both special needs and the general education population alike. How to Teach This Lesson Display the graphic. Discuss each of the four components of affordability displayed on the graphic. Have students provide examples of each component. Brainstorm
Preparing Our Teens for Emergencies
It seems there’s a natural disaster every day. This makes it vitally important to teach our teens with special needs how to prepare for and react to an emergency as part of their transition skills for adult living. Help on the Web The U.S. government provides a valuable website at Ready.gov for any emergency that happens across the country. Whether you’re preparing for a flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, or other disaster, they have an impressive array of resources t
Buying Lunch
Budgeting is an essential skill needed for independent living. By starting with small steps, we can help our students with special needs learn this vital skill and enhance their ability to manage money responsibly and make wise choices for their lives. Buying Lunch is a lesson from Transition in Ten which allows students to practice budgeting a fixed amount of money to buy a variety of lunches. This quick lesson makes good bell-work, or easy practice during rotations or stati
Beginner's Guide to Creating a Resume
It’s difficult to be financially responsible if you don’t have finances to work with! And creating an eye-catching resume is a first step towards helping students with special needs find their first jobs. September’s National Revise Your Resume Day is the perfect time to help students create that important employment tool. Getting Started For students with special needs, creating a resume is not a 5-minute project, but that doesn’t mean that their final produce can’t be impre
Self-Care Awareness Month
Teaching teens self-care is a vital skill for adult living. September is Self-Care Awareness Month and a good time to teach teens with special needs how to take care of themselves. Self-Care involves a variety of skills young people need to live healthy lives and understanding the basics of those skills can be—literally—life-saving. Increasing Awareness of Self-Care Self-Care Awareness starts with that very awareness that self-care is necessary. Many teens, especially tho
