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Independent living skills
Helping your young person learn independent living skills will help them feel more confident as they move into adulthood. We've compiled some resources around some of the most common areas in this topic, including:
Learning how to manage money is crucial for a young person seeking financial independence. Read our tips and resources on money management below.
Cooking
For some young people, learning to cook can be intimidating. Beginning with simple meals to learn the basics of cooking is usually the best place to start.
CookABILITY have a playlist of recipes geared towards young people with SEND that may be helpful.
Handling food
Certain foods such as meat can become harmful if not stored or prepared correctly. It's important for a young person looking to live independently to know that they should look at use-by dates and where they're storing their food, along with reading labels or instructions when preparing food.
Healthy eating
An important part of staying healthy is what and how much you eat. The NHS Eatwell Guide is a good starting point to help young people learn what foods are best for them and develop a healthy relationship with eating and nutrition.
Having your young person help you around the house can be a good way to introduce them to certain household tasks, get them used to doing necessary chores, and emphasise the importance of a clean living space.
As your young person gets older, they may want to have responsibility over their medications, making their own doctor appointments, and other aspects of managing their personal health.
Hygiene is an important factor in all people's physical and mental health. The following NHS easy read guide provides an overview on the importance of hygiene and personal care.
NHS Easy Ready Guide to Personal Hygiene
- personal-care-hygienePDF1.07MB
Having a routine can help people get into the rhythm of new or difficult tasks, maintain daily consistency, and develop healthy habits.
Some people find getting into a routine more difficult than others, while others may find a break in their routines very stressful. If you can, try and help your young person develop their routine in a way that suits them. If their routine is broken, see what you can do to get them back on course.
You can learn more about setting a routine in this NHS article.
To build your young person’s independence, it might help to include them in the shopping process: helping them write your shopping list, asking them to keep track of when you're running low on household items, or letting them do the shopping by themselves. This can help them gain household skills and develop a general sense of what kinds of things they will need to live independently.
Learn more about help with shopping with this resource from Scope.