Teaching Money Management Skills
- HEALIS AUTISM CENTRE
- Oct 14
- 4 min read
Teaching children monetary concepts does not stop at mastering the basic skills of recognising, counting and using money in real-life situations. Even after learning how to use money, using it wisely and managing finances are still difficult topics to tackle for children with autism. Saving, budgeting, and smart spending are complex financial skills that all children need to learn. Possessing good money management skills is crucial to successful independent living and increased quality of life, since countless things in life require money (Cheak-Zamora et. al., 2017).
However, internalising money management skills is challenging for children with autism. These skills are highly conceptual, involve analyses of multiple hypothetical scenarios (e.g. which will I enjoy more, buying one expensive game or three cheaper games?), as well as thinking long-term and short-term (Cheak-Zamora et. al., 2017). Thus, it is vital to break down the skills into manageable components, provide concrete examples and lots of practice. Furthermore, ensure that all aspects are touched on without assuming that something is straightforward and does not need to be taught. Here are four suggestions to guide you in teaching your child money management skills:
Teach long vs. short-term goals
Teaching your child to balance both long and short-term goals, and the value of delayed gratification, are crucial in helping them understand why it is important to manage money prudently. It is helpful to point out to them the things in their life that were obtained through you saving money regularly for them, such as their bedroom renovation, holiday trips, and their education.
It may be too early for your child to start saving for their future house or for retirement, but they can begin to save for a trip to an amusement park, or for a new video game system. Teach your child what they have to give up in their daily life if they want to put a lot of money towards their long-term goal in a short span of time, and how long they have to wait to achieve that goal if they choose to put in small amounts of money over a longer period of time.
Play board games!
Games are interactive ways to teach children complex concepts and show them how these concepts play out in the process of the game (Vallefuoco et. al., 2021). They allow children to experience various situations that may not yet be possible for them in real life, e.g. buying a house, being in debt. Apart from Monopoly, there are numerous board games that teach money management skills for children and teenagers of all ages, from simpler ones like The Allowance Game (for ages 5 and up) to The Entrepreneur Game (for ages 12 and up). There are also games developed specifically for children and adolescents with special needs, such as Budget City and Budget Town. Check out this link for more money-related board games!
Use social stories
Social stories break down a task or social situation into distinct, easy-to-understand steps, and are often accompanied by illustrations, perfect for children with autism who struggle with abstract concepts (Karkhaneh, 2010). You can share a social story about how to save money, or how to handle the feelings of frustration when your child does not have enough money to buy something for themselves. There are numerous social stories about money management online, as well as free applications (see here) to help you create personalized social stories for your children.
Real life practice
When your child has learnt how to budget and spend money wisely, put it in practice by giving your child some money for a day out. Your child will have to practise pacing his expenditure throughout the day, instead of spending all his money at the start. Before the day out, you can also create a basic expenditure plan with your child to allocate a rough budget to each activity in the day, e.g. lunch, movie, dinner. Allow your child to adjust the budgets as they go about their day, as the purpose of this exercise is to teach them to use money wisely, and not to blindly follow the plan.
At the end of the day, review their experience with them. Discuss how they actually spent their money and their various thoughts when deciding what to buy and what they had to give up. It is normal if your child comes back reporting that they used up almost all their money by lunch! Remember that your child is still young and inexperienced, and probably has not been given so much money to spend as they like before. Through repeated practice, your child will learn how to spend money wisely.
Money management skills should be taught from young, to instil and ingrain in your child a sense of monetary discipline. Even if your child will always require continued support from others, the sense of self-worth that comes from basic financial autonomy can be life-changing.
(Before teaching money management skills, ensure that your child possesses basic money skills like recognising, counting and using money in real-life situations. Read our previous article here to learn more about how best to teach basic money skills to children with autism!)
Written by Hazel.
References:
Cheak-Zamora, N. C., Teti, M., Peters, C., & Maurer-Batjer, A. (2017). Financial capabilities among youth with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(5), 1310-1317.
Karkhaneh, M., Clark, B., Ospina, M. B., Seida, J. C., Smith, V., & Hartling, L. (2010). Social Stories™ to improve social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Autism, 14(6), 641-662.
Vallefuoco, E., Bravaccio, C., Gison, G., & Pepino, A. (2021, September). Design of a Serious Game for Enhancing Money Use in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In International Conference on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Computer Graphics (pp. 339-347). Springer, Cham.
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