LIFE SKILLS AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

The rapid social change consequent upon modernization, urbanization, globalization and media boon has made the lives of youth, their expectations, values and outlook very different from those of older generations. Youth is considered as the most powerful members of the society due to their physical and intellectual capabilities. But it is sad to see the fact that most of them are unable to utilize their potential in a suitable and pertinent way due to lack of guidance and motivation. Now, the main question arises that if the normal youth is unable to utilize their potential then what about the excluded groups who are deprived of vision, hearing, movement, communication, perceptual-motor, social-emotional, intelligence and adaptive behavior? Therefore, the challenges faced by normal children as well as children with special needs are many and they require more than even the best numeracy and literacy skills. That is why, many countries have included “Life Skills” as basic learning need for all the children including normal children as well as children with special needs (UNICEF).