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York Region District School Board

Skill Development for Day Program Pathway

The following are some of the skills that may help prepare students with disabilities for the transition from secondary school into a day program. 

It is important to build skills early to increase student autonomy in completing tasks throughout their day. Although not required for eligibility, the level of support a student requires to complete daily tasks may affect the associated cost to attend these programs.

For each skill a brief list of possible strategies is provided. A general strategy that can be used with all skills is to break down activities through a task analysis/checklist into smaller steps.

SkillPossible Strategy
Managing belongings
  • Schedule time for students to practice their routines.
  • Use visual aids/schedule to reinforce procedures e.g. what to unpack and pack from their bags and where to place the items.
  • Use labelled areas and pictures for belongings in designated spaces.
  • Use a matching game for items that corresponds to storage locations.
Lunch
  • Practice going to the fridge to put items in it. e.g. lunch bag, food items.
  • Use a checklist (visual pictures and/or written words showing the steps for storing lunch in the fridge).
  • Place visual labels on the fridge area and lunch bags.
  • Role play e.g. “It's time to store your lunch,” and then students follow the steps on their own.
Awareness of time
  • Use checklist with time of day marked on it.
  • Use an analog/digital clock/phone to practice setting the time for activities.
  • Use timers.
Transitioning between activities
  • Start and end the day with an activity that students can transition to smoothly.
  • Have students check-in/check-out with staff e.g. using feelings cards/charts.
  • Have daily/weekly prompts that the group can discuss briefly at the beginning of each activity i.e. What has made you smile within the last hour?
  • Provide a visual checklist for each student.

SkillPossible Strategy
Washing hands
  • Set up a hand-washing station with visual steps showing how to wash hands.
  • Practice washing hands as a group before each meal or snack.
Lunch bag
  • Create a practice routine where students retrieve their lunch bag or lunch from the
    fridge using a visual schedule to guide them through each step.
Asking for help with lunch
  • Make lunch with students.
  • Model using the microwave and cooking utensils.
Waiting to access shared amenities
  • Play turn-taking games or activities.
  • Use visual timers to show how long they need to wait.
  • Practice taking turns using shared resources e.g. microwave.
Setting the table
  • Have student set a table for lunch.
  • Interactive games.
Remaining seated while eating
  • Remind students to remain seated during meal times.
  • Talk about expectations during eating times.
  • Timers.
  • Consistent timing and routines.
Cleaning up
  • Students practice cleaning up by removing their dishes from the table.
  • Set up a routine for cleaning up after lunch.

SkillPossible Strategy
Flushing toilet
  • Set up a practice routine where students simulate flushing the toilet (either using a real toilet or a toy model).
  • Flush toilet sign above the school/classroom toilet.
Handwashing steps
  • Set up a hand-washing station with visual steps showing how to wash hands.
  • Practice washing hands as a group before each meal/snack.
  • Wash hands after each bathroom use.
  • Model and coach washing hands.
Locking/unlocking door (push button or manual lock)
  • Have students practice locking and unlocking bathroom doors.
  • Expose to a variety of locking mechanisms.
  • Match visuals of locked and unlocked hinges.
Use of hands-free equipment (paper towel, soap, water)
  • Students practice using hands-free equipment (e.g., automatic soap dispensers, water faucets, and paper towel dispensers).
  • Visuals on how to recognize hands-free vs. manual equipment.
  • Model and coach using hands-free equipment.
Use of menstrual products
  • Students use proper hand washing techniques and dispose of products in the appropriate location.
  • Students can identify when the product needs to be changed.
  • Visuals for order of operations.
  • Coaching.
Use of urinals
  • Have students practice keeping up their pants while using a urinal.
  • Visuals.
  • Coaching.
What to do in case of an accident
  • Role-play scenarios where students practice what to do if an accident occurs.
  • Use a story or a character to teach the steps (e.g., alerting a staff member, calling for help, using appropriate language to communicate the situation).

SkillPossible Strategy
Turn taking
  • Use games or activities that require turn-taking, such as board games, card games, or group activities like “Simon Says”.
Willingness to share
  • Group activities that require sharing, such as working with shared materials (e.g.,
    markers, toys, or equipment).
Notifying staff of their needs
  • Teach students how to communicate that they need help or use an AAC device to
    communicate their needs.
  • Role play/model asking for help.
  • Practice these skills during group activities or structured routines.
  • Create/use advocacy cards. 
Ability to follow a schedule
  • Provide a visual or written schedule of the daily activities.
  • Have the student create a schedule for a desired activity.
  • Use a calendar with the week activities posted for student reference.
Self-regulation or self-awareness
  • Use calming strategies (e.g., deep breathing, sensory tools).
  • Use a feelings chart.
  • Use a story.
  • Teach interception skills.

SkillPossible Strategy
Ability to stay with the group
  • Go on community outings where students practice travelling in designated safe areas with the group, a partner, or independently.
  • Pre-teach pedestrian and traffic signals.
  • Practice using pedestrian signals, staying in a line, or travelling at a designated
    pace.
  • Look for community signs, traffic lights, community vehicles, mailboxes, places
    like hospitals, etc.
Awareness of safe and unsafe situations
  • Use role-playing to introduce different scenarios where safety is a concern (e.g., crossing the street, interacting with strangers).
  • Practice identifying what makes situations safe or unsafe and discuss possible
    actions to take.
Understanding community spaces
  • Model behaviour in a variety of community spaces emphasizing that different
    spaces may have different expectations. e.g. public transit, restaurants, grocery
    stores, libraries etc.
  • Pre-teach the expectations in environments for field trips.
Ability to communicate in unsafe spaces or situations
  • Teach students how to communicate unsafe situations using verbal or
    nonverbal cues.
  • Practice scenarios where students may need to communicate an unsafe situation, such as when they feel uncomfortable or are lost.
  • Teach ways to identify safe people to ask for help (police, fire, employees, etc.).