“Life Skills”

We often take a lot for granted. As Dr. G. reminds us, we need to appreciate what we HAVE before we appreciate what we HAD.

My name is Brandon, I’m an Independent Living Skills Specialist working with Autistic Adults at a development center in Los Angeles Area.  Dr. G’s statement also works when we realize we are fortunate to have some skills that we take for granted, yet others have to work to achieve. Until you have to struggle to do some things that are ‘routine’ you don’t always realize AND APPRECIATE what you had to start with!  I work with folks who are struggling every day to have a ‘routine’ life, something that you probably have, but might not think about it much because it is natural for you. What if it wasn’t? What if it was difficult for you to make some simple choices. What if it was difficult for you to read a friends email because there were errors in syntax, punctuation, and spelling that drew your attention so that you couldn’t really get to the message of the email until you corrected that? What if you…. ?  (add other examples)

What are Life Skills ?  They are any skill that is necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life. Some folks come by them naturally, some are learned and some folks are impacted when it comes to general Life Skills. An easy to understand example, would be realizing that for a blind person, morning preparation requires some extra training over what a non-blind person would deal with. They need to have some help in finding where the soap, toilet paper, comb and brush, tooth brush and tooth paste are, as well as placement of the toilet, shower/tub etc. Once they have it scoped out, they can ‘run with it’. A non-blind person would see where these items are and not need some help to utilize them. How many of us at some time, have said to a blind person, “Do you see what I’m getting at?” even if it is a concept, but we then we realize there is a difference to address…

By Brandon W., BA, 
Beverly Hills Counseling Certified Anger Management Counselor / Independent Living Skills Specialist