Task Breakdown
What is task breakdown?
Task breakdown is very similar to a visual schedule. It is a visual representation of the steps to complete a single task. While visual schedules help us organize broader times in our day (e.g., our morning routine such as: get dressed, brush teeth, go downstairs, eat breakfast, go to school), task breakdown helps represent the steps it takes to do some of the things within our routine (e.g., the steps it takes to brush our teeth). See the examples below for more information!
Why is task breakdown important?
Sometimes it can take longer for children with developmental delays to learn a particular skill. The amount of steps and instructions it takes to complete the task can be overwhelming! Breaking down a specific task in to small, achievable steps is a great way to facilitating mastering of a particular skill for your child. The goal is for your child to eventually be able to complete the task independently.
Examples of Task Breakdown
Steps to Washing Hands
In this visual task breakdown, you see that the steps of washing your hands have been broken down into smaller, manageable steps.
This particular visual has 9 steps. However, you can make your task breakdown visuals as simple (e.g., 3-4 steps) or as complex (e.g., 5+ steps) as your child needs.
This visual is set up in a grid style. It is important to consider how easily your child can follow the visual. For example, visuals that are set up linearly vs. this grid style might be easier for a child to follow along with.
Steps to Getting Dressed
In this visual task breakdown, you see that the steps of getting dressed have been broken down into smaller, manageable steps.
This is a quite simple visual task breakdown, displaying only 4 steps. Depending on your child's needs, you could make this more complex.
This visual is set up linearly and is even numbered, making it very easy to follow along with.
Steps to Complete a Craft
In this visual task breakdown, you see that the steps of completing a craft have been broken down into smaller, manageable steps.
This is a very simple visual task breakdown, with only 3 steps being shown. As mentioned in the examples above, you could make this more complex or leave it as simple as it is, depending on your child's needs.
This visual is set up linearly but is not numbered like the one above.
How to Implement Task Breakdown to Help Your Child Become More Independent
- Think about a task that you would like your child to become more independent in.
Some ideas might be: dressing, brushing their teeth, getting their breakfast, etc.
Consider your child's current skills - are they ready to take on all of the steps of dressing right now, or would they be better off learning just a few steps at the moment? Do they have the skills to complete more than 3 steps using a visual support? Understanding this will take some trial and error, and that is okay! Try things out and see where you are successful.
- Break down the task into smaller steps.
Think about the steps it takes to complete the task you are breaking down. It might be helpful to write down the steps.
- Create visuals for your steps.
You can create visuals digitally and print them out, use your phone to take pictures of the steps, or just draw them! As long as they represent the steps your are trying to portray, they will work.
- Teach the task using your visuals.
The next time you are going through the task with your child, refer to the visuals as you complete each step.