Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS) Starter Set

The Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS) is an assessment, skills tracking system and teaching companion for the development of independent living skills.

The AFLS has the ease, look and familiarity of the ABLLS-R extended to necessary skills of independence in Home, School, and Community Settings. The Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS) consists of:

• The AFLS Guide – A teaching companion that contains task analyses, teaching suggestions, and prompting strategies
• Four individually available assessment protocols including Basic Living Skills, Home Skills and Community Participation Skills, School Skills

(N.B: Two additional Protocols – Independent Living Skills and Vocational Skills included in the Complete AFLS Set HERE).

The AFLS is comprised of The AFLS Guide and assessment protocols that assess functional, practical and essential skills of everyday life. Although each assessment protocol can be used as a standalone assessment, we conceptualise all protocols as being different modules of an extended assessment that exists on a continuum spanning throughout a learner’s life in home, school, and community settings. Each module is different yet each is connected by unifying themes and overarching goals for maximizing a learner’s freedom, independence, and opportunities. Bundle multiple modules and customise the perfect assessment for your setting and situation.

Basic Living Skills

Basic self-help, self-care, self-management, hygiene, routines, and core communication skills are assessed in this protocol. The skills assessed in The Basic Living Skills Assessment Protocol should be thought of as a prerequisite for any functional skills program for any learner regardless of age, setting, or disability. These essential skills, if not mastered, will have a profound impact on a learner’s ability to live independently, to be successful in school, and to take advantage of various social and recreational activities throughout the learner’s life. The Basic Living Skills Protocol includes:

• Self-Management
• Basic Communication
• Dressing
• Toileting
• Grooming
• Bathing
• Health, Safety & First Aid
• Night time Routines

Home Skills

Whether the learner is living with parents, living in a supported facility, living in a group home or living independently or with roommates, the Home Skills Assessment Protocol provides an essential review of skills required for living in a home. Basic and advanced home skills of preparing and eating meals at home, cleaning tasks around the home, clothing, laundry, leisure skills, and the day-to-day mechanics of living in a home are assessed. Home Skills Protocol includes:

• Meals at Home
• Dishes
• Clothing and Laundry
• Housekeeping and Chores
• Household Mechanics
• Leisure
• Kitchen
• Cooking

Community Participation Skills

Participating in the community begins with learning to physically navigate safely around all the common aspects of sidewalks, streets, and signs along with people encountered while walking or while being transported. To be able to independently shop in grocery and department stores, shop at the mall, and eat at fast food or sit-down restaurants requires a wide variety of skills. The ability to tell time and use time related concepts, making and keeping appointments, using a phone, and other skills to help learners stay connected and interact with others in the community are also assessed in this protocol. Community Participation Skills Protocol includes:

• Basic Mobility
• Community Knowledge
• Shopping
• Meals in Public
• Money
• Phone
• Time
• Social Awareness and Manners

School Skills

It is important for a learner to be an active participant in a variety of skills, routines and social situations in educational settings. These skills are essential in striving for independence and successful functioning in different types of classrooms, in all parts of the school campus, and with peers and various staff. This assessment covers all age levels of education (i.e., elementary school, middle school, high school, college). It also incorporates skills that are necessary in a wide range of classroom environments (i.e., special day classes, “pull out” classrooms, inclusion, regular education), and considers the individual’s level of development (e.g., language, behavior, and cognitive abilities). The School Skills Protocol includes:

• Classroom Mechanics
• Routines and Expectations
• Meals at School
• Social Skills
• Technology
• Common Knowledge
• Core Academics
• Applied Academics