Adaptive Functioning: What Is It, and How Does It Affect Learning?

Grocery shopping, brushing teeth, and doing laundry may seem like simple tasks, but these behaviors are examples of important learned habits that fall under the umbrella of “adaptive functioning.” Adaptive behaviors are the various social, conceptual, and practical skills that people learn in order to function in everyday life. In the academic world, adaptive functioning describes a variety of capabilities critical for students to succeed in typical school settings. Students with impaired adaptive functioning are often eligible for 504 plan accommodations or special education services to overcome barriers and facilitate academic success. 

What adaptive functioning skills impact a student’s education?

1. Communication Skills

Communication skills refer to ones’ ability to understand and use various forms of verbal and nonverbal language. In a school setting, effective communication with teachers is vital for meeting academic expectations, and healthy peer interactions are important for making friends and developing socially. Conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and intellectual disabilities can impact both expression and information processing, making communication difficult. 

2. Functional Academic Skills

Functional academic skills are the “tools” we develop to help us understand reading, writing, and math in daily life. These skills include telling time, taking measurements, and organized notetaking. These skills are important aspects of academic proficiency both in terms of immediate application (such as solving math problems) and long-term application (such as taking effective notes for the purpose of studying and exam preparation). Dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and dyslexia are all examples of specific learning disabilities that can impede the development of functional academic skills.

3. Self-Direction Skills

As youth grow and gain independence, they are required to develop their abilities to problem-solve, make decisions, plan, and initiate tasks. This set of skills falls under self-direction, the ability to manage one’s own time, projects, events, chores, and other obligations. Students who struggle with self-direction may find it hard to begin assignments, manage their workload, or stick to necessary schedules. Anxiety, ADHD, depression, and bipolar disorder are examples of conditions that can limit or impair self-direction skills.

4. Social Skills

Maintaining friendships, interacting with fairness and honesty, understanding social cues, and respecting boundaries are all important to healthy social development. Developing healthy relationships with teachers and peers has been shown to have a direct correlation with academic success. Students with disorders such as autism, social anxiety, and intellectual disabilities often struggle to understand emotions or to meaningfully engage with their classmates.

5. Self-Care Skills

Self-care skills are behaviors that are necessary for eating, dressing, bathing, grooming, and other personal hygiene. In children aged 2-5, this can include swallowing liquids without difficulty, opening their mouth when offered food on a spoon, and taking their shoes off. For students over the age of 5, this can include drinking liquids without spilling, washing their hands with soap and water, and eating a variety of foods instead of preferring only one or two.

A student’s ability to physically care for themself has major implications for their long-term health. Poor hygiene, for example, can lead to higher risks for illness, infections, and other afflictions that impact their well-being. Conditions such as schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, and autism commonly impact a student’s ability to perform self-care. In severe cases, residential placement can support students with around-the-clock caregivers, paired with a modified academic curriculum.

6. Health and Safety

While they may sound similar to self-care skills, health and safety skills are concerned with a student’s ability to protect themself, respond to health problems, and manage medication. For younger children, this can include behaviors like asking to see the school nurse when ill or hurt, putting on a coat when it is cold, and carrying scissors safely in the classroom. In students over 5, this can include behaviors like using electrical sockets safely, using classroom tools and equipment safely, and showing caution around hot or dangerous items. ADHD, depression, schizophrenia, and intellectual disabilities can cause students to struggle with maintaining their health or assessing potential threats to their safety.

7. Work Skills

The ability to maintain employment, full-time or part-time, is a major factor in one’s ability to live independently. This is especially true when students reach the age where they can work, as many students enter the workforce as soon as they are able. Working well under direct supervision, cooperating with coworkers, performing work tasks neatly, and independently pursuing full-time or part-time jobs are important capabilities for achieving gainful employment. 

Common conditions or challenges that can impair work skill development include intellectual disability, ADHD and other executive functioning impairments, disruptive mood regulation disorder, sleep disorders, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

If your student struggles with adaptive functioning, a qualified diagnostician can help you identify the cause. Schedule your free 15-minute consultation below to learn about our diagnostic services.

Seeking Help from Variations

Adaptive functioning skills are important for students to meet the expectations of their everyday environments. If your student struggles in any area of adaptive functioning, our diagnosticians can identify the root cause(s) and guide you toward seeking appropriate school supports that will promote their academic success.  

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More about Variations Psychology

Variations Psychology is a group practice specializing in diagnostic testing to identify psychological conditions.

Our comprehensive evaluations test for conditions that impact mental health and development such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, depression, anxiety, learning disorders, and developmental delays. 

In addition to diagnostic services, we offer Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs) of K-12 students to assess needs for accommodations in school and determine their appropriate placements. IEEs provide an objective second opinion on existing IEP and 504 Plans.

For K-12 and post-secondary students, we offer evaluations to assess needs for accommodations on standardized tests, college entrance exams (e.g. - SAT, ACT, AP Exams), and graduate and professional licensing exams (e.g. - MCAT, LSAT, GRE, CBEST, NCLEX, GMAT, CA Cosmetology Exam, CA Contractors State Licensing Exam, CA Bar Exam).

Schedule your free 15-minute consultation below to learn how our diagnostic services can support you and your family. 

Variations Psychology is located in Newport Beach, CA and provides psychological testing to residents throughout Orange County and its surrounding areas including Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Irvine, Shady Canyon, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Coto de Caza, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Yorba Linda, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Pelican Hill, Crystal Cove, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, Lake Forest, Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach, Seal Beach, and more.

References:

Ditterline, J., Banner, D., Oakland, T., Becton, D. (2008). Adaptive Behavior Profiles of Students with Disabilities. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 24(2), 191-208. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/15377900802089973 

Kenworthy, L., Case, L., Harms, M. B., Martin, A., Wallace, G. L. (2010). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(4), 416-423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0911-4

Lynch, S. A., Simpson, C. G. (2010). Social Skills: Laying the Foundation for Success. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 38(2), 3-12. Retrieved from https://nveceleadershipseries.com/img/Social-Skills_Laying-the-Foundation-for-Success.pdf

Mitchell, E. S. (2018). Adaptive Functioning. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development. Retrieved from https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-lifespan-human-development/i2345.xml

Shinn, M.M. (2022). 7 Ways Schizophrenia Impacts Education. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/7-ways-schizophrenia-impacts-education 

Shinn, M.M. (2020). 8 Ways Bipolar Impacts a Teen’s Education. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/8-ways-bipolar-impacts-a-teens-education

Shinn, M.M. (2021). 10 Early Signs of Autism in Toddlers. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/10-early-signs-of-autism-in-toddlers

Shinn, M.M. (2018). ADHD or Just Kids Being Kids? Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/adhd-or-just-kids-being-kids

Shinn. M.M. (2022). “Could I Have ADHD?”: 7 Tips to Identify and Manage Executive Functioning Challenges. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/could-i-have-adhd-7-tips-to-identify-and-manage-executive-functioning-challenge  

Shinn, M.M. (2022). Dealing with Dysgraphia: 7 Steps to help Your Child Overcome Writing Challenges. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/7-steps-to-help-your-child-overcome-writing-challenges

Shinn, M.M. (2020). Detecting Dyslexia: Could My Kid Have It? Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/detecting-dyslexia-could-my-kid-have-it

Shinn. M.M. (2023). Does My Child Have Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder? 6 Ways to Identify DMDD. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/does-my-child-have-disruptive-mood-dysregulation-disorder-7-ways-to-identify-dmdd  

Shinn, M.M. (2021). Is My Child or Teen Depressed? 10 Tell-Tale Questions to Consider. Psychologically Speaking. (Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/is-my-child-or-teen-depressed-10-tell-tale-questions-to-consider

Shinn, M.M. (2020). My Kid Has OCD – How Will This Impact Their Education? Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/my-kid-has-ocd-how-will-this-impact-their-education

Shinn, M.M. (2021). Why is Math So Hard for My Kid? Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/why-is-math-so-hard-for-my-kid-wctwz

Shinn, M.M. (2022). Why Isn’t My Kid Making Any Friends? Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/why-isnt-my-kid-making-any-friends

What is Adaptive Behavior? (n.d.) American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition/adaptive-behavior

How to Cite This Blog Article:

Shinn. M.M. (2023). Adaptive Functioning: What Is It and How Does It Affect Learning. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/adaptive-functioning-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-affect-learning