Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) include the things that children normally complete as part of their everyday lives. An important group of these activities includes things children do as they learn to care for themselves such as dressing and grooming. Some children need support to develop the skills needed for these activities and occupational therapists can help.
There are ‘norms’ within which we expect children to achieve certain skills, such as using a spoon or cup, toilet training and being able to manage tasks like buttons or shoelaces. If children have not developed these skills within average time frames, then we consider that they have a delay, and start looking at ways to assist their skill development.
Activities of Daily Living for children can include basic skills such as:
- Bathing/Showering
- Dressing
- Personal Hygiene and grooming (brushing hair, brushing teeth)
- Eating/Feeding
- Toileting
- Sleeping
- Mobility (walking, transferring)
Instrumental ADLs are those that are not vital for daily functioning, but which enable a person to live and function within their home and community. These become increasingly important as children become older. Some broad examples of these can include:
- Shopping
- Housework
- Managing money
Assessment of ADLs is useful because occupational therapists are often able to work with clients to develop strategies which will help maximise independent functioning. At Talking Matters, our occupational therapists will collect information about your child’s ADL skills as part of the initial assessment process.
What skills do I expect from my child? Here is a rough guide to the ages at which children develop activities of daily living. If your child is not able to do this tasks it may be useful to speak to an OT.
At 6 to 12 months children can:
- cooperate with an adult dressing then by holding out arms and legs
- eat cereal or pureed baby food from a spoon held by an adult
- try to hold their own bottle
- hold and suck on a bsicuit or rusk
- Hold and suck or bang a spoon
- begin to self feed soft finger foods
At 12 to 18 months children can:
- pulls off their shoes and socks
- push their arms through sleeves and legs through pants
- copy parents brushing teeth
- self feed soft finger foods
- dip a spoon in food and bring it to their mouth with spills
- hold and drinks from a cup
At 18 to 24 months children can:
- remove clothes without buttons or zips
- remove shoes without laces or buckles
- help pull pants down
- find armholes in shirts
- brush thier teeth with help
- scoop food with a spoon and brings it to their mouth
- drink from a cup with one hand
- eat a range of foods though not all meats as yet
At 2 to 3 years children can:
- take off socks, jackets, shorts, shoes, and pants but not tight clothes
- put on socks, coats, and shirts
- unbuttons large buttons
- sits on the toilet with adult help
- develop daytime toilet training with some accidents
- begin to wash their hands
- try ot wipe after the toilet with help
- eat a meal with a spoon or fork with few spills
- eat a range of foods with different textures
At 3 to 5 years children can:
- put on shoes without laces or buckles
- begin to manage zips and buttons
- begin to brushing their teeth and wipe their nose
- comb and brush their hair
- wipes themselves after the toilet
- have few toileting accidents
- get themselves simple snacks
Strategies that your OT might use to help maximise your child’s performance in ADLs could include:
- simplifying or modifying tasks
- breaking tasks into achievable steps (task analysis)
- helping to identify a gradual process for teaching skills (grading)
- helping to address any sensory or behavioural issues that are impacting on a task
- recommending equipment or tools (this could be as simple as a special cup/spoon for feeding or specific chairs/strollers for mobility)
- introducing a rewards system to encourage motivation and independence
- implementing supports such as visual cues/schedules or help at home care
- accessing funding to purchase necessary equipment (identifying funding options and writing supporting documentation, for example the CAPS scheme for difficulties with continence in people over 5 years of age)
- assisting caregivers (including teachers or childcare staff) to develop and implement strategies in their environment
If you are concerned about your child's activities of daily living an occupational therapist is the person to see for advice. An occupational therapist can assess your child's skills and advise you on what to do to help your child's development. For more information about occupational therapy check Our website. We currently have vacancies for OT assessment and therapy at both our Elizabeth Downs and Tanunda Offices.
We also have a number of school holiday group programs, including Self Care Skills, Motor Skills, Handwriting and Play Skills, coming up in the next school holidays. Click here for details and call us on (08) 8255 7137 to book.
There are also lots of great activity ideas on the Talking Matters Pinterest page. Our website now has lots of occupational therapy information sheets to download on motor skills, sensory integration and daily living skills. Check it out here!
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