Functional Life Skills Training for Children
Life skills are the jobs a household actually needs: dressing, a snack, the toilet, a bag by the door. We teach the last step first, then hand the rest back — not a lecture about being independent.
Written by the Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center therapy team · medically reviewed by Dr Muhammad Suffyan, MB BS (GMC 8023727) · Last reviewed September 2026
About Life Skills
Functional life skills at Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center in Model Town, Multan are the jobs a household actually needs: dressing, a snack, the toilet, washing hands, packing a bag, a safe goodbye at the door. We teach the last step first, then hand the rest back. Contact owner Muhammad Salman Afzal first; faculty includes Mahnoor Baloch. A consultation is Rs 1,500 and lasts up to 50 minutes.
Parents usually say I still dress him, she will not use the toilet at school, he cannot open his lunch. That is a task-analysis problem, not laziness. Older children and teens: life skills for school-age and teens. Printable: chores by age.
Sessions run in Urdu or English. You do not need a diagnosis. We do not run a “make them independent by Friday” programme.
Who this is for
- Children who still need an adult for dressing, shoes or a lunch box
- Toileting that has stalled, including autistic children
- Picky or very limited eating when the skill is sitting and trying, not a diet plan
- Packing a bag, washing hands, a goodbye that ends
- ADHD, when starting the task is the wall
- Teenagers who can do it if you stand there — that is the first stage, not the finish
How we teach a life skill
Break the job. Teach the last step first (the shoe on, the lid closed, the flush). Prompt, then fade. Practise in the real bathroom and kitchen, not only at a table. One skill this month, not twelve.
- Dressing and shoes, in the order the morning actually uses
- Toileting and washing hands, including asking to go
- A snack or one simple meal
- Packing the bag and putting it by the door
- A goodbye, a wait, a way to ask for help
Who delivers it
Mahnoor writes the plan. ABA hours for daily living often sit with Noor Fatima. School-readiness sitting and classroom jobs sit with Akasha Tariq. Motor pieces (buttons, zips, a spoon) sit with our motor and daily-skills work — which is not licensed occupational therapy. Related: special education, autism support, school readiness.
What to run at home for ten days
Pick the one morning job that would change next week: shoes, lunch box, flush, bag by the door. Tick it. If it needs a laminated twenty-step chart you will not use, it is the wrong job. Printables: chores by age, practice log. Coaching: parent coaching. Longer: life skills at home.
If they do it for us and not for you, that is why coaching exists — we watch the room where it fails, not the room where it already works.
Independence is a fade, not a lecture
“They can do it if I stand there” is the first stage. Independence is starting, keeping going, and finishing with you in another room. Fade on purpose: do, then point, then wait, then leave. Teenagers add packing, money, a road, a phone — that sits on school-age life skills and independence. We will not give you a fake date for “independent by Friday”.
How this programme works, in more depth
Each of these pages is one slice of the work — a session, who it is for, or what to try at home — linked back to this service.
What a session actually looks like
- 1You film or describe the real routine that fails — the morning, the toilet, the lunch box.
- 2We pick one step and decide who prompts, and how we will fade.
- 3Practise in the room that matches the job, not a pretend version if we can avoid it.
- 4You leave with one step to run for ten days and a way to tick it.
Other ways we can help
Speech Therapy
Help for late talkers, unclear speech, stammering and language delay, through play your child enjoys.
Motor & Daily Skills
Motor, handwriting and self-care skills, built up through purposeful play.
ABA Therapy
ABA and positive-behaviour support for autism, ADHD and hard-to-manage behaviour.
Life Skills: your questions answered
They can do it if I stand there. Does that count?
That is the first stage. Independence is when they start, keep going and finish with you in another room. Fade on purpose: do, then point, then wait.
Is this occupational therapy?
No. Buttons and spoons overlap with motor skill-building, which we also do not staff as licensed OT. See motor and daily skills for that honesty.
My teenager refuses every chore. Is it laziness?
Often the task is too big or the day is already used up. Shrink it. See life skills for teens.
They will not use the school toilet.
That is a separate plan: asking, clothing, a known stall. Tell us the school’s rule as well as yours. See dressing, eating and toileting.
How many skills at once?
One this month. Twelve at once is how mornings collapse.
Worried about your child? Let’s talk.
A short, friendly conversation is the best first step. Call, text or WhatsApp us — we’ll listen and guide you, with no pressure.
MPS Road, Block A Model Town, Multan (near Bloomfield Hall School, Street No. 2) · Mon–Fri, 2 PM – 6 PM