At FOCUS Therapy, we’re always looking for creative ways to teach our patients life skills by making speech, occupational, physical and ABA therapy fun and engaging. The new FOCUS Kids Store is yet another example of how FOCUS Therapy is looking outside the box to achieve this.

The brainchild of our Therapist Manager, Lisa Shogren, The FOCUS Kids Store offers an array of toys, games, puzzles, books, bracelets and more.

Patients can “pay” for items of their choice using FOCUS Bucks. FOCUS Bucks are earned by achieving certain therapy goals as well as completing a task from our list of chores. Each chore is tiered by price. Some examples of chores include:

• Refilling snack containers (once weekly – take note of any snacks we’re low on, inform our office staff if we are low so more can be ordered) – $5
• Paper shredding (twice monthly – gather any paper that needs to be shredded from all of the four offices at FOCUS Therapy, shred the paper and change the bag as needed) – $10
• Party Planner (once monthly – pick a theme and choose a day, make decorations and a list of food to be brought, design signs and display them to let everyone know) – $20
• Office closing sign creator (pick from one of the upcoming holidays FOCUS Therapy is closed, create a sign, laminate it, give to the front office staff so they can be hung the week before the holiday). – $1 per sign creation, $0.50 each to hang

The FOCUS Kids Store has items that are priced anywhere from $0.50 to $5.25.

For FOCUS Bucks, we use a cash register with realistic-looking cash and coins. Part of the experience is having patients set goals, earn money, count money, stay on budget and learn how to engage in a financial transaction for goods/services – conceptually difficult but very important skills they will need in life!

Teaching children with developmental delays and disabilities to be as financially independent as possible requires:

• Starting early;
• Practicing coin and dollar identification;
• Using social stories to break down the tasks;
• Repetition.

If you’re interested in learning more about the FOCUS Therapy Kids Store or about techniques for teaching your child financial independence, just ask your child’s therapist!

FOCUS offers pediatric speech therapy and online speech therapy for kids in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.

Additional Resources:

Tips for teaching kids with special needs about money, Jan. 12, 2018, The Beth Kobliner Company LLC

More Blog Entries:

Is My Child a Late Bloomer Or Is It A Language Problem? Speech Therapists Weigh In. March 2, 2020, FOCUS Therapy Blog