Everyday Living

Everyday living skills for ākonga who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision are essential for participation in daily life. These skills, which include food and nutrition, personal care, organisational skills, financial management, and community participation, are learned and refined through practice in everyday environments. Developing these skills is a lifelong process that builds interdependence and independence, enhancing self-worth and autonomy. Competence in everyday activities promotes wellbeing and community involvement. Repeated practice and problem-solving in various contexts help ākonga generalise skills, fostering confidence and independence.

What ākonga will understand, know and do across their learning pathways

As ākonga develop their everyday living capabilities and knowledge, they come to understand that:

• Participation in everyday life requires knowledge, resources, and adaptations and these will develop and grow with practice over time. 
  • Skills for everyday living are learned in everyday environments, and these skills and strategies relate to food and nutrition, personal care and wellbeing, organisational skills, financial management, and participation in communities.
• The skills for everyday living are learnt throughout school and will continue throughout life.
  • The highest level of interdependence and independence are developed collectively and individually. Skills and strategies build in complexity over time and across contexts.
• Developing their competence/skills in daily living will promote their wellbeing, independence and autonomy, and enable their participation in, and contribution to, the wider community. 

Developing competence in skills promotes wellbeing, enabling participation in, and contribution to, the wider community. Problem-solving strategies in everyday activities support interdependence and independence.

As ākonga develop their everyday living capabilities and knowledge, they come to know:

• That being organised will support their independence
  • Organisational skills incorporate the concepts, systems and tools used for self-management. Self-management includes the effective and safe use of resources and equipment to support interdependence through to independence.
• About Food and Nutrition
  • How to source, plan, prepare and eat nutritious food safely in a variety of social settings while respecting cultural differences.
• About Financial Management 
  • Financial management skills support the ability to meet needs and wants. Financial literacy includes knowing how to use tools, resources, and information in a range of formats.
• Managing Personal Care and Wellbeing 
  • Physical, social and emotional wellbeing requires a range of different skills and strategies. This includes knowing how to be safe in physical, social and digital environments. These skills support participation in whānau and community life. 
• Participating in Communities
  • Actively participating in the community brings a sense of belonging and social connection. Being able to give and take, along with self-advocacy, supports connection to, and accessing of, community resources.

As ākonga develop their everyday living capabilities and knowledge they will be able to:

• Understand why it is important to develop skills around everyday living and how these will benefit themselves and their communities.
  • There are a range of concepts to learn and build on over time. These depend on different social and cultural settings.
• Generalise skills, strategies and concepts.
  • Ākonga will know and practise different approaches and tools which can lead to increasing interdependence/independence. Engaging in routines in everyday settings develops skills over time. Identifying patterns and connections increases the ability to generalise strategies and connect concepts. 

BLENNZ teachers will have knowledge and skills to:

• Understand the impact of vision loss on the development of life skills.
• Assess ākonga need. 
• Confidently use basic techniques to promote the development of life skills. 
• Model techniques to peers, parents, whānau, paraprofessionals and others as appropriate.
• Work collaboratively with the BLENNZ DOM and Blind and Low Vision NZ Independent Life Skills Specialist as appropriate.
• Implement planned programmes in collaboration with the educational team and whānau.
• Access appropriate resources and equipment.
• Promote the development of problem-solving and self-advocacy skills.