 | Erin Luchterhand |
Doing your own laundry seems to be a typical part of a person’s life. For me, I usually do laundry throughout my days at home: wash, dry, fold, repeat. But what about those who struggle with the step-by-step instructions or the concept of sorting by color? Washing on hot or cold? If you think about it, doing your laundry requires a lot of individual decision making/problem solving skills. For the individual with an intellectual or developmental disability, learning to do their own laundry, while a simple chore for many, is an integral part of the Appropriate Independence they seek.
As a parent or teacher working to train an individual on laundry skills, keep in mind that this needs to be a process, broken down into manageable steps. While each step has nuances that will need to be taught (i.e. “Does that plaid shirt go in the “Brights” section or the “Darks” section?), washing clothes can be broken down into 6 steps. I teach these steps adding in hand motions, and fun voices, too:
Repetition, repetition, repetition- Happy laundering!
As a parent or teacher working to train an individual on laundry skills, keep in mind that this needs to be a process, broken down into manageable steps. While each step has nuances that will need to be taught (i.e. “Does that plaid shirt go in the “Brights” section or the “Darks” section?), washing clothes can be broken down into 6 steps. I teach these steps adding in hand motions, and fun voices, too:
- “Whites, Brights, Darks!” Sort clothes into a pile of whites (or very light tans), bright colors, darker colors. Understanding the importance of this step is crucial for student’s to take initiative to actually complete this step. White clothes, red sock à pink anyone??
- “Load of Laundry” includes the hand motion of placing a load of laundry in the dryer. It’s important to remember to include simple steps, like the act of physically placing laundry in a washing machine, so students remember to do what we would consider “common sense” steps.
- “Water Temperature” along with hand motions (like you are washing your hands under water and then putting a hand to your forehead to take your temp) helps to remind students that they need to be aware of the temperature of the water. Different people have different reasons for washing most things on hot or most things on cold, so I won’t even attempt to provide the “right answer” here. What I will say is: be consistent in how you teach this step. Since you’ve already sorted by color, perhaps it’s a great idea to teach water temp based on the piles of clothes you are washing! It may be too confusing if you say, “Here’s your pile of darks, now pick out the jeans, wash those on hot and wash everything else on cold.” This can be a confusing step, so make things as simple/basic as possible and remain consistent.
- “Load Size” refers to how many clothes you are trying to put in the washing machine at once! Is your student going to stuff that machine full or try to wash one item at a time? Most machines have a size setting dial to determine the amount of water necessary to wash the clothes. I teach this skill in two different ways. First, I place different amounts of laundry in different washing machines and teach students to identify the difference between a small, medium, and large load. This is another example of the nuances of washing laundry – “how do I tell when the load has gone from medium to large?!” Once students can accurately identify, for the most part, the size of the load, I have them start from the beginning, sorting clothes, putting them in the washing machine, identifying the water temperature, and then selecting the load size. Each task should be mastered individually and then applied to the process as a whole.
- “Laundry Soap” or “Detergent.” Use whatever terms or phrases work best for your students. The art of measuring laundry detergent can be a challenging task to master. “How much do I use?” is a common question, and it can be a challenge for students to understand that they may need different amounts, depending on the size of the load. While it may seem like a simple task to some, it can be a challenging task to many individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Not only do they need to determine how much detergent to use, they have to master the art of pouring into the measuring cup. Thank goodness for laundry pods!
- “Start Button!” It sounds simple, right? Just turn the washer on. Have you ever looked at the start button on a washing machine? There are at least three options, each option allowing you the choice to start at different points. “Regular,” “Delicate,” “Handwash,” “Pre-Soak” - so many choices! When teaching this step, it is important to teach a basic rule and then allow for a few nuances. For example, I typically teach my students to wash their “regular clothes on the regular cycle.” For my students who don’t read, I teach them to look for the “R.” Be sure to teach students where the beginning of the “Regular” cycle starts and how to turn the button on! Once students know to use the “Regular” button most of the time, I can teach them to double check labels, or to identify fragile clothing to be washed on the “Delicate” cycle.
Repetition, repetition, repetition- Happy laundering!
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