Self Care and How to Help in All Tiers (1,2,3)
The ability for a student to complete functional self care tasks are so important to everyday living and functional skills throughout the school day. Self care includes hand washing, putting on/taking off a coat, zipping/unzipping, putting on a shoe, tying a shoe, putting on hats/gloves, wiping a face, washing a face, brushing teeth, completing a bathroom routine, etc. In the previous years I have implemented many Tier 1 (universal) groups working along with the teachers focusing on fine motor (handwriting and scissors skills). This year I wanted to try something new!!! I wanted to try specific self care groups in a Tier 1 (universal) perspective. My idea was what season are we in and how can I address a self care need in that season. My first step was to get a buy in with 1 teacher. I did, the teacher was immediately excited and willing to start this. My second step was how many minutes, how much time do we need, and how long per self care task. The plan was determined to make these mini sessions (20 min each) approximately 4 sessions, once a week. So taking a whole month to focus on 1 self care task. Each month changing that task. August/September Hand Washing for example. With it being the start of the school, what a great way to go over hand.