Money Skills for Developmentally Disabled Individuals

I prefer to teach money skills by incorporating them into fine-motor activities. Laminated pictures of coins or paper bills may be sorted into containers or stuffed into envelopes. They can match and attach two pictures using paper clips or squeeze clips. The money shown in the video has holes punched so that they can be hung on hook boards, strung on cord or used in ring stack tasks. (Make the pictures and holes larger when using on ring stacks)
Individuals with developmental disabilities can work on skills such as:
1) Identifying coins
2) Naming the value of coins
3) Naming the person in the picture on the coin
4) Saying the value of the coin
5) Adding up the coin values at any point while stringing or stacking them.

Notice the blue bag attached to the board. I filled it up with the laminated money pictures along with sensory items such as pennies, cotton balls, beads, pom poms, foam pieces or beans. Of course, do not use this adaptation with individuals who may put them in their mouths. However, its fun to sift the fingers through the materials while selecting the laminated pictures.
Clients who do not have the cognitive skills to identify, match or sort money may simply enjoy stringing or removing them to place back in the bag. Using money pictures to perform simple fine motor tasks is a great age-appropriate strategy to work on basic hand skills.

Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog:
http://www.RecyclingOT.com
http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com
http://www.FromFlappingtoFunction.com