How to Teach Problem Solving Skills to the Cognitively Disabled
One of the hallmarks of people with a cognitive disability is their overall inability to adapt to new situations, or problem solve, naturally on their own. Problem-solving skills must be taught in a step-by-step fashion in the classroom and in actual situations in which student must use the skills. Engage students visually with pictures and physically by performing the steps as you teach the skills. When you move on to teach another skill, be sure to re-visit the previously learned skill periodically or the students will likely forget what they learned.
Instructions
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Break the problem-solving skill you plan to teach into its component parts. For instance, teaching skills associated with deciding what to do if a puddle blocks the sidewalk include seeing the puddle, stopping at its edge, looking at the puddle to see how deep it is and determining if it is too deep to walk through without getting shoes soaking wet. If it is too deep, the student must look for another nearby route that avoids stepping in the puddle. This can be broken down into component parts, as well.
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Introduce the concept through a picture-icon social story or teacher-made book that shows the child performing the skills successfully. For example, a social story about a puddle blocking a path might show the student walking along the path, coming to a puddle, wondering what to do, going through each component part of the skill you are teaching and successfully solving the problem. Read the book several times throughout the instructional period, which may last weeks or months.
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Talk to the student about what he or she would do if he or she ever had the problem. This can be done as part of the social story activity, as well as in conversations with the class.
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Play games that reinforce the skill. You could play "What Would You Do?" This can be made into a board game or played as a whole class verbally. For the board game, make a set of cards with problems that need to be solved and a set of cards with instructions, such as "Pick Another Card," or "Lose a Turn." The problems should incorporate a mix of skills and a range of difficulty levels. Draw a baseball diamond on a piece of card stock. Mix the two decks of cards together. Divide the group into teams. The "outfield" team draws a card and reads it to the "at bat" team. If the "at bat's" hitter gets the question correct, he advances his token to first base. If he misses, his team has an out. Three outs and the teams change places. You can adapt many games to fit this kind of lesson.
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Practice the skill outside in a safe place. Model the process while talking yourself through the steps out loud. Have the student try next. Provide prompting as necessary. Keep track of correct attempts. If there is a problem, note what step it is on. You can focus on this step more closely in class lessons.
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Practice in a real-life setting. For instance, in the puddle example this means finding a location with a puddle ahead of time. During the day create a situation where the student comes across the problem -- from his or her perspective -- by chance. Again, track correct attempts and areas of difficulty. Provide prompting as needed.
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References
- Photo Credit George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images
