Special needs · Self-care and daily living skills
Life skills practiced where students actually live
Pencil Spaces helps therapists and teachers coach self-care and daily living skills at home, with picture steps on the board and a second camera on the task.
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Area
Physical and medical needs
Who it helps
Students with learning, physical or developmental disabilities, occupational therapists, special education teachers and families
What lessons need
Step-by-step visual supports, a view of the task, practice in real settings, repetition, family involvement
In Pencil Spaces
8 features available today
Part of
What do students learning self-care and life skills need from an online lesson?
Self-care and daily living skills include dressing, fastening, packing a bag, making a snack, handling money and following a routine. For many students with disabilities, these goals matter as much as reading. Online therapy can coach them where they’ll really be used: at home.
- Picture steps for every taskImages & Video · AvailablePut a photo or picture for each step on the board, such as the steps of zipping a coat.
- A screen with nothing extraChild Mode · AvailableChild Mode leaves five big tools and hides chat, boards and apps, so the picture steps are all the student sees.
- A camera on the taskDocument Camera · AvailablePoint a document camera or phone at the table, so the therapist sees fastening, cutting or coin counting up close.
- Routines that stayPersistent Spaces · AvailableVisual schedules and step charts stay on the student’s board, the same every week.
- Check off each stepSticky Notes · AvailablePut each step on a sticky note, and move it to done as the student finishes it.
- Families learn the routineLesson Summaries · AvailableA recap after each lesson, with a version for parents, lists the routine to practice at home.
- Watch it againSession Recording · AvailableWith the family’s agreement, recordings let the student watch the therapist model a task again.
- Every success countsCelebrations · AvailableConfetti, reactions and stickers mark a right answer or a hard-won step.
Why can online lessons be hard for students learning self-care and life skills?
Life skills are hard to teach on a screen if the camera only shows a face. The therapist needs to see hands, objects and the space around the student.
At school, these skills are often practiced somewhere other than where they’ll be used. Skills learned in a classroom don’t always carry over to home.
What does a lesson look like in Pencil Spaces?
A student and her occupational therapist work on packing a school bag. Picture steps sit on the board: books, lunch, water bottle, zip.
Her phone, propped on the table, shows the bag as she packs. She moves each sticky note to done, and confetti marks the finish.
How do therapists use Pencil Spaces with students learning self-care and life skills?
Occupational therapists and special education teachers coach school-related self-care, such as managing a coat, a bag or lunch, as well as routines at home. Teacher Notes, a private board only the therapist sees, holds the plan and the prompts for each step.
Automatic Attendance records who joined and when, and the API can pass it to the system your team uses for service records. Persistent Spaces keep every routine and chart ready for next time.
Tips for teaching students learning self-care and life skills online
- Break each task into small steps, with a picture for each.
- Practice in the real place, such as the kitchen or bedroom, with a camera on the task.
- Model a step, let the student try, then fade your help.
- Involve the family, so the routine happens every day.
- Celebrate each step, not just the finished task.
Good to know
Some tasks need hands-on help that a screen can’t give. A family member or aide in the room makes many tasks possible, and tasks such as cooking need an adult present.
Questions people ask
Can occupational therapists teach self-care skills online?
Yes, for many skills. In Pencil Spaces, a phone or document camera shows the task, picture steps sit on the board and families learn the routine alongside. Some tasks still need an adult in the room.
Which life skills can be practiced online?
Fastening, packing a bag, simple food preparation, money skills, telling the time and following a daily routine all work well. Tasks that need hands-on support need a family member or aide present.
How do picture steps help?
Picture steps break a task into small, visible parts the student can follow without remembering everything. On the board, each step can be checked off as it’s done, and the chart stays for next time.
How do families keep practice going?
Lesson Summaries include a version for parents with the routine to practice. Families can join the Space to watch the therapist model each step, and boards can be saved as an image to print.
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