Learning how to manage money is important for everyone, but it can be especially challenging for neurodivergent children, or kids whose brains work differently. About 15-20% of people are neurodivergent (National Cancer Institute, 2022), which means they may have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, a specific learning disability, or a related diagnosis. Neurodivergent people have many strengths, but traditional teaching methods may not be best suited for them.
Why Money Skills Can Be Hard for Neurodivergent Children
Being good with money is not just important for school, but also for life. Some parts of neurodiversity can make it harder to manage money. For instance, kids with ADHD tend to have less savings, more debt, and are less likely to be financially independent by the age of 25 than their peers (Pelham et al., 2020). ADHD can also lead to impulsive spending and trouble understanding financial documents (Hamurcu et al., 2023). Kids with specific learning disabilities may have trouble recognizing numbers or doing basic math (Şanal & Elmali, 2023). For example, children with dyslexia may find it harder to memorize information (Lambert & Harriss, 2022), which can lead to difficulty with things like multiplication tables. The National Center for Learning Disabilities (2024) estimates that upwards of 90% of children with neurodivergent learning needs do not meet grade-level math standards in fourth and eighth grade.
Strengths of Children with Neurodiverse Needs
The challenges of neurodiversity can sometimes be tough for kids and parents, but it is important to remember that kids whose brains work differently have many strengths. For example, kids with ADHD can hyperfocus on things they are interested in, allowing them to invest in topics more fully. Kids with dyslexia often have creative ways of looking at the world, great problem-solving skills, and strong spatial reasoning abilities. They also tend to be more resilient when they face challenges (Lambert & Harriss, 2022). The key is to focus on the child’s strengths, even when others tend to focus on their struggles.
Tips for Teaching Financial Skills
Below are tips to teach financial skills to neurodivergent kids (and any child):
- Make it practical. Connecting math problems to real life financial situations makes learning more interesting and promotes a child’s understanding of math concepts (Sawatzki et al., 2019). This provides your child with additional connections to use in school, may increase their interest in math, and gives them a safe space to practice their skills.
- Use tools. When helping your child with homework, use tools like graphic organizers, step-by-step checklists (Root et al., 2019), or have your child draw pictures to make sense of the problem (Lambert & Harriss, 2022). While some kids benefit from talking through their problem-solving processes out loud, others find it stressful (Root et al., 2019). Check in with your child about what is working for them.
- Create opportunities to teach. Giving children an allowance and helping them manage it, and/or talking about managing money for birthdays or holidays, are easy ways to teach financial skills at home. You could also do a family stock market challenge, where everyone pretends to invest in stocks and follows their investment. The winner could get to choose a meal or pick a family activity.
- Talk about risks and rewards. It is important to discuss the risks and rewards of investing with older children. Kids with ADHD usually focus on potential rewards and ignore risks, so teaching them to weigh both is vital to developing critical thinking skills (Hamurcu et al., 2023). An easy way to start is by opening a CD or money market account with your child. Walk them through comparing interest rates, penalties, and the pros and cons of not being able to use their money for different amounts of time. Make a chart to compare risks and rewards to help your older child visualize the information.
Tips for Financial Educators and Practitioners
Practitioners should be mindful of how neurodivergent needs impact clients and their families, as neurodiversity and disability considerations must be part of diversity and inclusion initiatives (Lurtz & Komarow, 2021). In addition to the aforementioned suggestions for parents, Lurtz and Kamarow (2021) offer tips for financial professionals who are interested in working with neurodiverse clients or families with neurodiverse needs.
- Educate yourself. “Understand the differences between Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Medicare, and how various programs and services are funded. Foundations, such as the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) and the National Disability Institute (NDI), provide special education for working with and addressing issues that impact neurodiverse communities.” Additionally, OneOp has on-demand programming to expand your knowledge base in Medicaid, Medicare, SSI and SSDI, and TRICARE’s Autism Care Demonstration.
- Understand available resources. Familiarize yourself with available resources and professionals in your area/state, as well as professional organizations that specialize in the caregiving, neurodiversity, and/or disability needs of your clients. Early intervention services may also be available for military families through the Exceptional Family Member Program. Watch the OneOp webinar, Supporting Military Youth with Disabilities in Transition to Adult Life to gain additional insights into the resources available for military youth who are aging out of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) services to post-secondary life from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
References
Hamurcu, Ç., Hamurcu, H. D., & Karakuş, M. (2023). Financial risk-taking in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Review of Behavioral Finance, 16(3), 394-405. https://doi.org/10.1108/rbf-04-2023-0113
Lambert, R., & Harriss, E. (2022). Insider accounts of dyslexia from research mathematicians. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 111, 89-107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-021-10140-2
Lurtz, M. R., & Komarow, A. (2021). Inclusive financial well-being empowerment model for serving independent, neurodivergent individuals. Journal of Financial Planning, 34(11), 70-81. https://www.financialplanninga...ndent-neurodivergent
National Cancer Institute. (2022, April 25). Neurodiversity. https://dceg.cancer.gov/about/.../2022/neurodiversity
National Center for Learning Disabilities. (2024). Understand the issues. https://ncld.org/join-the-move...derstand-the-issues/
Pelham, W. E., Page, T. F., Altszuler, A. R., Gnagy, E. M., Molina, B. S., & Pelham, W. E. (2020). The long-term financial outcome of children diagnosed with ADHD. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 88(2), 160-171. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000461
Root, J. R., Cox, S. K., Saunders, A., & Gilley, D. (2019). Applying the universal design for learning framework to mathematics instruction for learners with extensive support needs. Remedial and Special Education, 41(4), 194-206. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932519887235
Sawatzki, C., Downton, A., & Cheeseman, J. (2019). Stimulating proportional reasoning through questions of finance and fairness. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 31(4), 465-484. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-019-00262-5
Şanal, S. Ö., & Elmali, F. (2023). Effectiveness of realistic math education on mathematical problem-solving skills of students with learning disability. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 39(1), 109-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2023.2191110
Cover photo credit: Seventyfour/Adobe Stock
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