Knowing a skill is not the same as doing it in real life
Where the gap comes from
Most learning about adult life happens in explanation: at home, in a classroom, in a session, in a social story. Explanation is useful. It is also the easiest part.
Doing the thing involves everything the explanation left out - the crowd on the platform, the card that declines, the staff member who speaks too fast, the moment where a decision has to be made in four seconds.
What the gap looks like in practice
- Knowing how a bus works, but not travelling to TAFE.
- Understanding money, but not managing a real purchase.
- Wanting a job, but not managing the routine around a shift.
- Knowing how to cook, but not planning and preparing a meal.
- Knowing about an appointment, but not organising to get there.
What closes it
Repetition in the real setting, with the level of support that fits the moment - and no more than that.
The level matters as much as the repetition. Support that does the task keeps the gap exactly where it is; support that stands nearby while the person does the harder part is what moves it. Both look like "support" on a timesheet.
A simple way to test it
- Pick a skill you believe they have.
- Ask when they last did it somewhere other than home, without you starting it.
- If the answer is "not recently" or "not without me", the gap is opportunity, not ability.
This is not a reason to remove support. It is a reason to be deliberate about which part of a task the support is doing.