Below is a general skill sequence for helping learners learn the basic “fastening” behaviors related to clothing.

As learners progress in mastering the basics of clothing themselves, such as putting on shirts, shoes, and pants, it becomes essential to focus on the corresponding "fastening" behaviors. This includes skills like handling zippers, buttons, and snaps. Before targeting these skills, it's crucial to ensure that the learner has developed the necessary fine motor capabilities to perform them effectively. The skill area we're addressing here aims to first practice these fastening behaviors with the learner while the clothing is off, providing a more manageable learning context. Once proficiency is achieved in this stage, the next step involves practicing these skills while the learner is actually wearing the clothing, thereby integrating these essential tasks into their daily dressing routine. This gradual, step-by-step approach not only builds the learner's independence in dressing but also enhances their fine motor skills in a practical and functional manner.

How this skill area relates to your assessments!

This skill area aligns with various assessments and their respective domains, with milestone and domain codes provided for reference. Additionally, DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Autism are included to help clinicians identify how this skill area potentially supports medical necessity in relation to the diagnosis.

VB-MAPP (Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program)

• Listener Responding, LR 4-M, Performs 4 different motor actions on command without a visual prompt (e.g., Can you jump? Show me clapping)

AFLS (Assessment of Functional Living Skills)

• Dressing, DR8, Buttoning shirts on and off
• Dressing, DR9, Fasten buttons
• Dressing, DR15, Unzips zippers
• Dressing, DR16, Fastens and zips a zipper
• Dressing, DR18, Hooks and unhooks fasteners

DSM-V Diagnostic Criteria for Autism

• A2, Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.

CDC’s Developmental Milestones

• 30 months, Movement/Physical Development Milestones, Takes some clothes off by himself, like loose pants or an open jacket
• 3 years, Movement/Physical Development Milestones, Puts on some clothes by himself, like loose pants or a jacket

Treatment Plan Goal Ideas

This is a list of treatment plan goals. These are different from the goals you will find in the skill sequence below. Your treatment plan goals encompass any number of goals from the skill sequence. Sometime they will include multiple goals from the sequence (”Learner will label 5 toys”) and sometimes the treatment plan goal will be simply consist of a really important goal from the skill sequence (”Will label caregiver”). An analogy I like to use goes as follows: Each skill sequence goal (commonly known as a “target”) represent each stair in a flight of stairs. The treatment plan goal is the flight itself.

Treatment plan goal ideas for this particular skill area are as follows:

• Learner will independently zip their zipper and button the waist button on their pants.
• Learner will independently zip their zipper and snap the waist snap on their pants.
• Learner will independently fasten and zip their zipper on their coat.

Component Skills

Your learner may need to be fluent in these component skills first before introducing this goal/skill area. Component skills for this skill sequence may include skill areas that are fundamental to other areas. Fluency in the skill areas listed below may increase the likelihood that your learner will succeed in this skill sequence and those afterward.

Intro to Reinforcer/Preference Expansion

Single Actions with Common Toys

Performs Preferred Action with Preferred Item (LR)

Performs Action During Familiar Routines (LR)

Intro to Dressing

Putting On T-Shirts

Putting On Pants

Putting On Coats & Button Ups

Imitates Fine Motor Actions

Skill Possibilities

Below is a possible skill sequence for working on increasing your learner’s ability to fasten zippers, buttons, and snaps. Note that every learner is different and that you likely will need to tweak and vary some programming to their needs. Click the triangle icon to view the full description for each skill in the sequence/area.

Concurrent Skills

Working on these skills at the same time could help with goal mastery. Maybe your learner has mastered these skills already. Perhaps they are already listed as component skills above. That’s okay! Targeting other learning channels might help your learner.

Imitates Fine Motor Actions

Performs Fine Motor Actions (LR)

Putting On Pants

Putting On Button-up Shirts (Coming Soon!)

Composite Skills

These are the possible next steps for learners who have mastered, or are mastering, the skills listed above. Note that new skill areas may require fluency in other component skills not listed above. Also, you can introduce composite skill sequences prematurely to keep your learner progressing, as generativity may occur earlier than expected.

Buttoning a Button-up Shirt (Coming Soon!)

Follow the link below to better understand component-composite analysis.

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