What is an ADL?
ADL’s are routine activities of daily living that make self care possible. Activities like: dressing, bathing, eating, toileting can be challenging for children who have sensory processing difficulties or poor motor skills. When every day tasks become difficult for children they may shut down or refuse to do what we may think of as simple things.
For instance, dressing is something that we as adults take for granted. There are many steps to getting dressed. First, you need to orient the clothing, sequence which limb goes in first and then you need to be able to tolerate the fabric. This may sound easy, but for little bodies it can create much frustration.
When do we start?
Kids start to dabble with getting dressed around the age of two or three. They often start by putting their little arms through the sleeves when you pull it over their head and are masters of taking off their shoes and socks. Praise their attempts. When we do something for our children we are telling them that they are incapable of doing it themselves.
Set yourself up for success
Mornings are busy for us all. I encourage you to pick a time during the day or weekend when your schedule allows more time to let your child learn. Talk to your child about the parts and pieces of their clothing. Point out the tags in clothing to help them orient that the tag goes in the back. Talk through the steps of putting on a shirt: First, pull it over your head, push one arm through, then the other and pull it down over your tummy. Way to go! You just put on your shirt!
Have fun!
So let’s talk about ways to practice with your child. Children love to dress up and pretend. Gather a box of over sized shirts with large buttons, zippers and fun fabrics. Goodwill is a great place to get old costumes and funky clothing that will make dressing more fun. Remember, a child’s reward is play. When they are learning an Activity of Daily Living and you are able to add a play based component to it – Boom, you just created a dressing monster!
- Have your child see how many layers of clothing they can get on at once
- Encourage them to try and put on as many different textures or colors as possible
- Give them a theme. “Dress up like an astronaut”
- Put a time component to it. Set a timer and see if they can beat the clock.
- Play dress up with them.
- Have them help you button up or zip your jacket.
- Encourage them to dress a favorite stuffed animal.
Let the fashion fun begin!