National Safety Month

June is National Safety Month. And rightly so. With school out for the summer, many young people with disabilities are out and about on their own. These teens and young adults need simple, effective tools to keep them safe out in public.

Personal Safety Tips

Independence Basics from the Daily Living Skills series helps students recognize circles of trust with people they know and don’t know. This books also discusses the kinds of lures that strangers use to lure people to them. This mini-lesson assumes that students have this basic understanding of personal safety. But, what should they do if confronted by a dangerous stranger?

“3 Steps to Stay Safe” provides an easy-to-remember plan to alert others, get away, and find help. Then students consider the kinds of scenarios they might find when they are out on their own around town and use these steps to practice staying safe.

Using the Lesson

Discuss potential dangers. Provide a scenario for students. Spell out how a stranger might try to lure a student to them. Ask students if any of them have been confronted in similar ways.
List most dangerous scenarios. Draw a vertical line down chart paper or the board. List “safe” on one side and “dangerous” on the other. Help students list safe/dangerous areas in town. (i.e. a well-lit shopping center or busy public park vs. behind the 7-11 or down a deserted alley.)
Find alternatives. Help students make alternative plans so that they avoid dangerous spots around town. But then, explain how even with the best of plans, they might still encounter someone who “feels” dangerous.
Pass out worksheets. Read the free mini-lesson “3 Steps to Stay Safe” together. Make it physical as appropriate for your group. (You may want to have each student practice their “No!”, run in place, or role-play talking to a trusted adult.)
Problem-solve the scenarios. Discuss each scenario. Use specific areas in town to anticipate where a student might go for help. (Is the gas station near a liquor store or does it have an attendant? Who might they see in the park to ask for help?)
Gut test. Explain that students should always key into their “gut.” If the hair stands up on their necks, they become very aware, or they get a weird feeling in their stomach—their gut is telling them to beware. They should listen. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

For More Information

If you like what you see, go to our Teachers Pay Teachers Website, or check us out our shop on our very own T2L & DLS Website! Books are written on a 3rd/4th grade level and include grading sheets, answer keys and parent information letters to comply with federal standards for transition skills. The Teacher’s Manual (sold separately) provides information on program set-up and maintenance along with pre/post-assessments, written ITP (Individual Transition Plan) goals for each book, and parent/student interest inventories.