Best Life Skills Options for Early Intervention
Compare the best Life Skills options for Early Intervention. Side-by-side features, ratings, and verdict.
Early Intervention teams need life skills options that fit naturally into play, routines, and family coaching, not just traditional classroom instruction. The best choices for ages 0-5 support self-care, communication, and daily living goals while making it easier to document progress on IEP or IFSP outcomes.
| Feature | AEPS-3 Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System | The Creative Curriculum for Preschool | Routines-Based Early Intervention with the MEISR | Carolina Curriculum for Preschoolers with Special Needs | Teaching Strategies GOLD | Everyday ABA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ages 0-5 Appropriate | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | With adaptation |
| Play-Based Instruction | Indirect | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes | Limited |
| Family Coaching Support | Yes | Moderate | Yes | Moderate | Limited | Moderate |
| Progress Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Basic |
| Home Routine Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Moderate | Yes |
AEPS-3 Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System
Top PickAEPS-3 is a respected assessment and curriculum system designed for infants and young children with developmental delays or disabilities. It is especially useful for identifying functional life skills targets and linking them directly to intervention planning and progress monitoring.
Pros
- +Excellent for assessing functional domains such as adaptive, social-communication, and motor skills
- +Helps teams write measurable, developmentally sequenced goals tied to real routines
- +Strong fit for IFSP and IEP documentation across home, childcare, and preschool settings
Cons
- -More assessment-driven than activity-driven for staff seeking ready-made lesson ideas
- -Training is helpful for teams to use it consistently and efficiently
The Creative Curriculum for Preschool
A widely used early childhood curriculum that supports functional daily living skills through routines, centers, and intentional teaching. It works well for embedding self-care, social-emotional, and independence goals into natural classroom and home activities.
Pros
- +Strong alignment with developmentally appropriate practice for ages 0-5
- +Daily routines and interest areas make it easy to teach dressing, feeding, cleanup, and turn-taking
- +Includes observation-based assessment options that support developmental milestone tracking
Cons
- -Can require significant teacher planning to individualize for intensive disability-related needs
- -Full implementation costs may be high for smaller programs
Routines-Based Early Intervention with the MEISR
The Routines-Based model, often paired with the Measure of Engagement, Independence, and Social Relationships, is highly relevant for teaching life skills in authentic home and community routines. It centers family priorities and helps providers target functional participation during meals, dressing, toileting, and play.
Pros
- +Excellent match for natural environment teaching and embedded interventions
- +Builds caregiver capacity through coaching instead of isolated child-only sessions
- +Strong focus on participation, independence, and functional outcomes
Cons
- -Requires provider skill in consultation and family coaching
- -Not a packaged curriculum with step-by-step activity cards
Carolina Curriculum for Preschoolers with Special Needs
This curriculum is designed for young children with disabilities and emphasizes developmental and functional skill progression. It supports instruction in self-help and daily living skills with activities that can be adapted for home visits, preschool, and therapy sessions.
Pros
- +Well known in early intervention and early childhood special education for developmental sequencing
- +Addresses self-help and adaptive skills in a structured, teachable way
- +Useful for planning intervention across multiple settings and providers
Cons
- -Less visually polished and tech-enabled than newer platforms
- -Some activities may need extra adaptation to feel fully play-based and family-friendly
Teaching Strategies GOLD
Teaching Strategies GOLD is an observational assessment system often used alongside preschool curriculum to track development across domains. For life skills instruction, it helps educators document progress in self-regulation, self-help, social participation, and functional independence within daily routines.
Pros
- +Observation-based progress monitoring fits play-based preschool environments
- +Can support documentation for functional goals and developmental milestones
- +Widely recognized in early childhood programs, which helps with team communication
Cons
- -Assessment platform does not replace a full intervention framework for life skills
- -Some special educators may need supplemental materials for intensive individualized instruction
Everyday ABA
Everyday ABA provides practical resources for teaching functional and early learner skills, including self-help routines and communication-based daily living tasks. It can be useful for providers who want structured strategies that still transfer to home and classroom routines.
Pros
- +Offers concrete teaching ideas for breaking down adaptive and self-care tasks
- +Helpful for staff who want explicit prompting, shaping, and reinforcement strategies
- +Can be adapted for children with autism and related developmental needs
Cons
- -May feel more adult-directed than relationship-based early intervention models
- -Requires thoughtful adaptation to maintain developmentally appropriate, play-based practice for toddlers and preschoolers
The Verdict
For teams focused on assessment-linked functional outcomes, AEPS-3 stands out as the strongest overall choice. For home-based Early Intervention and family-centered practice, the Routines-Based model with MEISR is often the best fit because it connects life skills directly to real routines. Preschool classrooms may prefer The Creative Curriculum or Teaching Strategies GOLD when they need play-based implementation and easier alignment with broader early childhood programming.
Pro Tips
- *Choose an option that teaches life skills inside everyday routines like meals, dressing, toileting, cleanup, and play, not just in isolated drill sessions.
- *Prioritize tools that let you document small developmental gains, since early intervention progress is often incremental and tied to functional participation.
- *If you provide home-based services, look for options with strong caregiver coaching support so families can carry strategies across the week.
- *For children with autism, intellectual disability, or global developmental delay, make sure the program can break self-care tasks into measurable steps with prompting and fading guidance.
- *Before purchasing, confirm whether the resource supports IFSP or IEP documentation, especially for measurable goals, accommodations, and routine-based progress notes.