Lifeskills - A Positive Approach
by Monica Macnamara

The keynote of this pioneering book is empowerment. Based on years of 'hands on' experience, it provides practical, structured programmes that will enable parents, teachers and carers to train adults who have learning disabilities in the numerous small, everyday skills they need to live independently in the community.

The emphasis throughout is on respect for the individual and his or her needs and preferences. Personal profile charts enable the teacher to assess an individual and identify those areas where training is needed , while the "Lifeskills Network" takes six core skills representing the main aspects of daily life and breaks each one down into main skills and then individual tasks. Step-by-step instructions and diagrams show how to teach the tasks and link them together to form a whole core skill, and checklists provide an easy reference for assessing progress. Light-hearted cartoons emphasise the cheerful optimism of the book's approach.

Too often, in large-scale service provision, people who have learning disabilities are treated as a group, with rigid routines, limited choices and lack of personal contact. This book, by acknowledging the importance of personal identity, gives parents and carers the means to liberate a person with learning difficulties and at the same time ensure their own peace of mind about his or her ability to cope. The core skill areas of the "Lifeskills Network" are self-care, home skills, community skills, interpersonal skills, leisure skills, and work skills. The chapters within the book include:

• The Lifeskills Network;
• Know Your Trainee;
• greeing Goals and Selecting Skills;
• Know the Task Yourself;
• Planning The Training Programme;
• Implementing The Training Programme;
• Teaching Methods, Materials and Resources;
• Bringing Lifeskills Training to Life.

  Ms Macnamara developed and ran the Lifeskills Training Unit at St. Michael's House, in Dublin Ireland, thus terminology differs from Canadian. This book was recommended for the basic, useable information and presentation of material.

Copyright © 1995 by Monica Macnamara.

Published by:

Souvenir Press (Educational and Academic) Ltd, 43 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3PA and simultaneously in Canada

Canadian Distributor: Chapters Online

Description of Resource: 240 pages, soft cover

Approximate Cost: $22.00 (Canadian)