10. Building Independence for All Learners in Inclusive Settings

Have you ever noticed that the children with disabilities in your program may be reliant on adults to do certain things? Have you noticed adults providing a little too much help for some kids and wonder if they might be able to do these things on their own? Unfortunately, this happens to a lot of children with disabilities. Building independence at an early age sets children up for future success, helps them feel confident, develop autonomy, and make their own choices. In this video, we’ll talk about ways to promote independence for young children by making sure everyone understands the directions, using wait time, and avoiding physical guidance. Then we’ll talk about how Leonard, a young child with autism, is able to participate as independently as possible at Lego Camp. Let’s get started.

The first thing to consider when working on independence is making sure that children know what the expectations are and what they’re supposed to do. Of course, we can’t expect our learners to be independent with new tasks unless they know what they’re supposed to do. Make sure you’ve taught the children in your program the tasks, routines, or activities before you expect them to be independent. Use very clear directions and model exactly what learners are supposed to do for each routine or activity. Once you’re certain they know the routine and expectations, then you can think about how you can build their independence. Ensuring that everyone understands the directions is always our first step.

Building independence requires adults to intentionally step back and give children the opportunity to do things on their own. This can be difficult. Sometimes children need more time to complete certain routines or activities and process directions they’ve heard. This is often called wait time. Think about giving kids about 3 to 5 seconds and counting in your head before stepping in to help. This wait time gives children a chance to do things on their own before an adult provides help that might not be necessary. Using wait time in busy school-age learning settings can be tricky, but this is a very important part of building independence. We have to give kids a chance to do things on their own before we jump in to help. Be patient and try counting to five in your head before you give help.

It’s common for children with disabilities to be physically guided by adults. Physical guidance is the most intensive level of support a learner can receive. With this high level of support, it’s easy for a child to become reliant on an adult to do certain things, like put on their coat, find a book at the library, or clean up materials. Physical touch can also feel uncomfortable or aversive for some kids, especially for children who are sensitive to touch, as is common for many people with disabilities. Instead of physically guiding children, we can use strategies like gestures or visuals. These supports are less invasive, easier to fade out, and help build independence from the beginning.

Now let’s look at two different outcomes for Leonard and how adults help build independence. Leonard is so excited to join Lego Camp at his local community center. His parents are excited for him to make friends while doing one of his favorite activities. On the first day of camp, he’s warmly greeted by one of the staff members, Mae, who takes his backpack and jacket and puts them in the cubby. Mae is very excited to have Leonard join and wants to make sure he has a great time and feels successful. Then Mae tells Leonard to join the group of participants building with Legos at the green table. When Leonard doesn’t walk over right away, Mae physically leads him by the shoulder. She hands him a tray of Legos and shows him how to put the pieces together to make a drone. While the other kids build independently or in pairs, Leonard only builds with Mae. By the end of the week, he hasn’t made any new friends and hasn’t had a chance to build anything on his own. While he’s had fun spending time with an adult, he didn’t have any chances to develop relationships or expand his Lego skills.

Now let’s look at a different story for Leonard. On the first day of camp, he’s warmly greeted by Mae. Mae shows Leonard a visual with pictures of a backpack, jacket, and cubby. Mae tells Leonard that the first thing they do each day is put their backpacks and jackets away and then start building. Mae points to Leonard’s cubby, and he puts his things inside. Then Mae tells Leonard to join the green table. She waits a few seconds, and when Leonard does not walk over by himself, she points to the green table and says, “Let’s walk together.” Once there, Mae hands him a tray of Legos and gives him a visual with step-by-step instructions for making a simple drone. Leonard starts to build independently using the visual instructions. Occasionally, he asks Mae for help, then continues building. The next day, Mae invites another child to join Leonard. Mae gives them visual instructions, and over the next few days, Leonard and his new friend work together to build a large spaceship. Mae checks in with Leonard occasionally, provides positive feedback, and lets him know that he can ask for help if he needs it. By the end of the week, Mae is excited to share with Leonard’s parents that he built a drone all by himself and made a huge spaceship with a friend. Mae provided just enough help to support Leonard while also allowing him to participate independently and develop new relationships.

Let’s reflect on the two different examples here. In the first example, Mae did not give Leonard a chance to do anything on his own. She put his backpack and jacket in his cubby for him and physically led him over to the Lego table. However, in the second example, Mae taught him the routine of putting his backpack and jacket away using a visual and then pointed to where his cubby was located. With these supports, Leonard was able to independently put his things away. She also waited for 5 seconds before providing more support when directing Leonard to the Lego table. Instead of using physical support, Mae pointed and then invited Leonard to walk next to her. Additionally, in the second example, instead of showing Leonard how to put the Legos together and staying with him the whole time, she gave him the visual instructions so he could build independently, checking in every now and then. With these supports in place, Leonard was able to do things on his own, and he made a new friend.

Our goal should be to provide just the right amount of support for all children, like Mae did with Leonard, and help them do things as independently as possible. By intentionally letting children do things on their own, we’re helping them be self-sufficient, develop confidence, and have power over their environment. How could you build independence in your program?