Life Skills/Functional Skills/Real-Life Skills

Life skills are those skills that are needed and used in everyday life situations in which a person finds himself/herself.   Cronin, Patton, and Wood (2007) organize life skills in a top-down fashion as indicated in the figure on the left.  Key elements of the model are explained below:

Adult Domains:  Employment/Education; Home and Family; Community Involvement; Physical/Emotional Health; Leisure Pursuits; Personal Responsibility and Relationships

Major Life Demands:  146 major life demands represent the events or activities typically encountered by most adults in everyday life.  All of the major life demands can be downloaded -- see below.  

Specific Life Skills:  are specific competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, application) of local and cultural relevance needed to perform everyday activities in a variety of settings typically encountered by most individuals.  

Source:  Cronin, M. E., Patton, J. R., & Wood, S. J. (2007).  Life skills instruction. Austin:  PRO-ED.  

                     NB: link to info about the book