With the majority of persons with intellectual disabilities now living in the community instead of institutions, functional use of money has become a particularly important and challenging special education priority. Lacking functional money skills, one cannot use money to purchase necessary goods and services, thus imposing great limits on the individual's ability to function independently. To address this challenge, Praxis, Inc. proposes to undertake development of the first of a suite of computer-based software products designed to establish the behavioral prerequisites for independent functional use of money by persons with intellectual disabilities. The first product, MERIT-l, will assess and teach identification of all coins and bills up to $20. To do develop the product, Praxis, Inc. will take advantage of its recent experience in developing other teaching programs for establishing basic discrimination performances and equivalence classes. The programs will be supported by an extensive body of scientifically-validated procedures, all of which have been developed in NICHD-supported projects aimed at improving instructional technology for persons with intellectual disabilities.
The Specific Aims of this Phase-1 project are to: (1) develop prototype software that will allow computer-based teaching of money discrimination skills that are prerequisite for learning the values of coin, bills, and their combinations; and (2) field-test the prototype to verify its effectiveness with teachers and students who are representative of those who will be the product's ultimate consumers. ? ?
