What are independent living skills?
Independent living skills, commonly called life skills, are a person's abilities to be genuinely called independent in daily life. They are essential survival skills, and everyone should have them because they help individuals live, survive, and care for themselves, especially when alone.
These skills are divided into different categories, each representing an aspect of daily living necessary for self-sufficiency. Here they are:
- General life skills (e.g., personal hygiene, dressing up, dental hygiene)
- Emergency and safety skills (e.g., understanding what to do in case of fire or earthquakes, knowing how to interact with law enforcement, knowing basic first aid)
- Nutrition and dietary skills (e.g., can discern what food and drinks are healthy and unhealthy, knows how to build a grocery list, checks food expiration dates)
- Money and financial planning skills (e.g., knows how to budget money, knows how to file taxes)
- Healthcare skills (e.g., knows what to do if they have common health problems, knows how to reach medical providers)
- Sexual health skills (e.g., understands consent, knows the difference between private and public places and behavior, knows birth control)
- Interpersonal and social skills (e.g., knowing what personal space is, knowing how to resolve conflict, knowing how to ask for help, possessing effective communication skills)
- Kitchen skills (e.g., knows how to cook, knows how to use cooking utensils safely, knows how to use kitchen appliances safely)
- Laundry skills (e.g., places dirty clothes in appropriate containers, knows how to segregate clothing when doing the laundry, knows how to fold clothing)
- Household skills (e.g., cleaning rooms regularly, taking the trash outside every day, knowing how to repair things)
- Community skills (e.g., crosses the street safely, takes public transportation, fastens seatbelt when riding or driving a car)
- Housing skills (e.g., knows how to pick apartments/houses, understands terms like lease and sublets)
- Employment skills (e.g., knows how to put together a resume and cover letter, knows how to prepare for a job interview, knows how to conduct themselves in a workplace environment, shows time management, digital communication, and organization skills)
- Legal rights and responsibilities (e.g., knows what their rights are when arrested, knows where to get legal services, knows where to seek legal advice)
Independent Living Skills Checklists are nifty tools for determining whether a person has the essential life skills to live self-sufficiently and autonomously. Social workers often use them in various settings involving cases where they need to identify areas of support that they can account for when dealing with specific people, such as persons with disabilities, older adults living alone, and those seeking help with personal development.
