Life skills encompass the abilities required for everyday independent living, and have been alternately referred to as “independent living skills” or “daily living skills” (Flynn & Healy, 2012). These skills include anything a person would do in the course of his/her life to maintain and utilize one’s living area, and attend to his or her physical needs. This includes basic housekeeping skills (e.g., cleaning, and laundry), hygiene (e.g., bathing, toileting, eating, and dressing), safety (e.g., crossing the street, traveling independently), and community skills (e.g., paying bills, obtaining services). Life skills also encompass other skills needed to live independently, such as the ability to plan and provide for one’s own physical needs. Life skills also encompass activities that occur outside the home, that are necessary to maintain one’s life; such as planning, selecting, and purchasing items; time and money management; vocational skills; and safety skills. As a result, for an individual to possess high levels of life skills, they must necessarily possess a degree of social and communication skills. As vocational skills have been more extensively studied than other types of life skills and require special considerations, they will be discussed separately.

Leisure skills comprise the subset of abilities that are necessary for an individual to carry out activities other than those necessary to maintain one’s living environment, vocation, or health, and include those activities that are conducted for recreation and relaxation. As such, leisure skills include the ability to identify, access, plan, and successfully participate in activities one finds pleasurable. For some, this may include being part of a club, service organization, or team. Leisure activities are often less structured than vocational or daily living activities. Leisure can involve a solitary hobby (such as maintaining collections or producing artwork), or more passive pleasurable activities such as visiting tourist destinations, shopping, or selecting and attending movies, plays, concerts, or exhibitions, alone or with others. Many of the skills needed in order to engage in leisure activities are the same skills needed for accomplishing the tasks required for daily living, and most leisure activities require some ability to communicate or socialize.

Adaptive behavior, life skills, and leisure skills comprise interdependent and overlapping skills. As a result, these three types of skills have proven difficult to define out of context of one another. Research in treatments targeting life and leisure skills in individuals with ASD has focused mainly on specific tasks, and has lagged behind research in social, communication, and academic skills. As research in communication and socialization will be reviewed elsewhere, this chapter will focus specifically on adaptive skills as they pertain to life, leisure, and vocation.

Deficits in life skills contribute to a number of negative outcomes, such as the development of mental illness and behavior problems (Borthwick-Duffy & Eyman, 1990; Matson & Sevin, 1994), and increased dependence on others (Soenen, Van Berckelaer-Onnes, & Scholte, 2009). Delays in independent living skills are often apparent at an early age and often remain without effective targeted intervention (Chadwick, Cuddy, Kusel, & Taylor, 2005; de Bidlt, Systema, Kraijer, Sparrow, & Minderaa, 2005; Kuhn & Matson, 2004; Rojahn, Matson, Naglieri, & Mayville, 2004). As what is considered to be developmentally appropriate, life skills change across the lifespan, cultures and situations, treatments for adaptive behavior must be adaptable to many different conditions.

Presently, research on treating deficits in independent living skills has focused mostly on children within educational or home settings. Little research on adaptive behavior has been conducted on adolescents and adults with ASD. This is surprising, given that most day and adult education programs strive to train vocational skills and increase independence so that individuals may be employed in affiliated sheltered or supported work programs, and live in less restrictive settings. Chadsey (2007) emphasizes that limiting adaptive behavior training to vocational skills is insufficient. A range of adaptive skills should also be taught, as overall functioning in the workplace depends on a range of adaptive skills. The inclusion of general adaptive skills training promotes healthy relationships between the individual and their coworkers, and overall job satisfaction. Thus, it is a priority to increase exposure to the full educational curriculum, and offer a variety of training options and alternate learning tracks. Therefore, an additional focus of research should be on the particular needs of adults and adolescents with ASD.

A major goal in vocational skills training programs for adolescents is to integrate individuals into the workforce and least restrictive residential settings once they no longer attend school. Therefore programs should ideally train a wide range of adaptive skills while offering long-term career development and planning programs. Success in the home and in the workplace depends on the ability of the individual to function independently in many contexts.

Leisure activities are important in attaining a high quality of life for all individuals, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These individuals may require assistance in selecting and exploring enriching activities. Leisure has been shown to decrease distress, increase positive affects, sustain efforts in coping, increase social involvement, improve access to social supports, and promote positive responses to difficult situations (Hutchinson, Yarnal, Staffordson, and Kerstetter, 2008). Leisure skills also provide some relief from life stressors for those with and without disabilities (Hutchinson et al., 2003; Hutchinson, Bland, and Kleiber, 2008). Meaning and pleasure is gained through participation in leisure activities. Among individuals with disabilities, participation in leisure enhances coping skills, has been associated with increased psychological well-being, and decreases in depressive symptoms (Dupuis & Smale, 1995).

Leisure activities promote social involvement and companionship, and moderate the relationship between stress and psychological well-being (Garcia-Villamisar & Dattilo, 2010). This finding may be partially due to the intrinsically reinforcing effect of leisure activities, as well as increased exposure to other forms of reinforcement that occur during one’s chosen leisure activity. However, participation in active leisure activities can pose particular problems for individuals with ASD, as they are likely to exhibit deficits in postural stability, gait, balance, speed, and flexibility (Jansiewics et al., 2006; Lang et al., 2010; Minshew, Sung, Jones, & Furman, 2004; Mostoffsky, 2006; Page & Boucher, 1998). Motor deficits, including impairments in movement have been found in as high as 79 % of children with an ASD and these deficits are believed to persist into adulthood. These deficits may be exacerbated by fewer opportunities to engage in physical leisure activities (Green et al., 2008; Lang et al., 2010). Motor difficulties may make certain leisure activities stressful or aversive.

There are other benefits that result from participation in active leisure activities. Exercise-based leisure activities in individuals with ASD have been shown to be beneficial. In addition to the usual benefits of exercise on physical fitness, studies involving physically intensive leisure activities have resulted in decreases in stereotyped behavior, and increases in on-task behaviors, correct responses to academic tasks, and improved motor control (Lang et al., 2009; Powers, Thibadeau, & Rose, 1992; Reid, Factor, Freeman, & Sherman, 1988; Rosenthal-Malek & Mitchell, 1997; Watters & Watters, 1980; Yilmaz, Yanardağ, Birkan, & Bumin, 2004). As a result, it may be desirable to include elements of physical activity in the leisure activities of individuals with ASDs.

Research on the acquisition of leisure skills in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities including ASDs is less common than research on other types of adaptive functioning (Burgess & Gutstein, 2007). Developing leisure skills programs for this population pose particular challenges. According to Pan, Tsai, Chu, and Hsieh (2011), individuals with ASD show less motivation and activity during physical education than typically developing peers. As a result, they may require additional assistance and prompting in order to actively engage. Researchers should continue to examine this area, as there may be alternative approaches that are more effective in teaching physical education in those with ASD. Ensuring that the chosen leisure activities are intrinsically reinforcing may increase the likelihood that these individuals participate in physical education and leisure activities. Preference assessments and behavioral observation can be used to help establish these preferences.

Garcia-Villamisar and Dattilo (2010) compared a group of 37 adults with an ASD who were actively engaged in a 12-month-long leisure program to a wait-list sample. A number of benefits to the treatment group were demonstrated, namely significant increases in overall quality of life, decreases in stress, increases in life satisfaction, competence, and productivity. Interestingly, no improvement was observed in the social integration and empowerment/independence domains (Garcia-Villamisar & Dattilo, 2010). Global adaptive functioning scores on the VABS were also significantly increased after participation in the program. Garcia-Villamisar and Dattilo (2010) emphasize that the positive effects of leisure are likely due to the necessity for an individual to utilize and practice other adaptive skills while engaging in leisure activities, and may be able to improve their ability to socialize and communicate.

Training modalities for teaching skills to individuals with ASDs should take individual aptitudes and preferences into account. Because it is common for people with ASDs to exhibit heightened sensitivity to stimuli, a typical work, leisure, or home environment may be aversive due to environmental factors. Fans, bright lights, ticking clocks, loud or repetitive sounds, and brightly colored environments may be irritating or over-stimulating. When therapy must be conducted in such an environment, the therapist may want to consider attempting to habituate the person to relevant stimuli as an adjunct to the skills training. Therapists may also find it desirable to teach the skills both in and out of the environments where they will complete the target activity. Special attention should be ensured that skills learned in one environment generalize to others as needed.

When developing a treatment, common cognitive strengths and weaknesses in individuals with ASD and the degree to which they apply to the individual should be considered. Approximately half of individuals with ASDs have an IQ at or below 70, ranging from mild to profound levels of intellectual disability (Charman et al., 2011). Visual tasks, including picture completion and arrangement tasks, represent strengths for many individuals with ASD (Charman et al., 2011). Some commonly measured tests of visual discrimination include; sorting, matching, image completion, and object and puzzle assembly (DeMyer, 1975). Therapists should consider including visual information in the training materials, and to modify treatment to the individual’s particular cognitive strengths. Individuals with ASDs may be more likely to participate in leisure activities or jobs that utilize their strengths.

Researchers have suggested that individuals with high functioning ASD may also possess superior nonverbal intelligence compared to typically developing age-matched peers (Chen, Planche, & Lemonnier, 2010). As a result, it is important to consider potential strengths and weaknesses when designing treatment protocols. The use of visual schedules, modeling, and other methods of visual prompting may be particularly useful and will be discussed in greater detail. Weaknesses include skills relevant to the diagnostic criteria for ASD (e.g., communication and social cognition). Individuals with ASD score lower on cognitive tests of vocabulary and comprehension (Charman et al., 2011). These deficits should be targeted within treatment. When designing treatment protocols, the therapist should ensure that the individual responds well to the types of instructions and reinforcers (e.g., praise, tangibles, attention) used.

Targeted training goals should center on the needs of the individual, and should allow for access to natural reinforcers when possible (e.g., money, social reinforcement). The targeted skill should provide opportunities for additional generalization of behaviors, and probe for additional skills that may be taught later. For example, the ability to independently access preferred internet sites (the reinforcer) requires use of computer skills. Hobbies such as photography or art, can integrate the exploration of new environments and situations, result in a finished product, and can integrate adaptive behavior training in a variety of ways. Activities that are intrinsically reinforcing may also provide the trainer with insight as to future target behaviors, as well as preferred reinforcers.

When selecting targets for training, it is important to identify the component tasks behaviors that are necessary for carrying out the larger task. There are a number of factors to consider when selecting a target behavior for training. First, one must consider which skills are needed for the individual to carry out the task, and whether prerequisite skills must first be taught. For example, if one wishes to teach an individual to use the toilet appropriately, it may be necessary to first train prerequisite skills, such as dressing and undressing, or even simply following directions.

Second, it is important to consider which skills are the most relevant, important, and meaningful to the individual. If the individual’s goal is to obtain a food service job, it may be preferable to teach relevant cooking skills prior to other vocational skills. Third, these preferences and goals of the individual should be considered within the context of his or her quality of life, and potential for increased independence as a result of the acquisition of the targeted skill.

Another commonly-used measure of adaptive functioning is the ABAS-II. This measure can be used from birth to age 89. Three domains are assessed; Conceptual Reasoning, Social Interactions, and Practical Functioning. The ABAS-II measures skills in the areas of communication, community use, functional activities, home living, health and safety, leisure, self-care, self-direction, social, work, and motor skills. A global measure of “life skills” would include home living, health and safety, self-care, and self-direction. Vocational skills are measured through the work and self-direction subdomains.