Mentally handicapped adults can be taught to shop for groceries, either on their own or with assistance, depending on their abilities. For this activity, choose a recipe that the adult can cook either on his own or with assistance. Prepare a grocery list using words, pictures or both. Each item should have a place beside it to place a check mark. Prepare a money tracking list and include one square for every dollar, and indicate how much money can be spent on this particular shopping trip. The student should practice finding the items on the list, checking them off the list and marking the cost on the money tracking list. The student should be able to determine when all of the necessary ingredients have been placed in the shopping cart or basket, and know whether he has enough money to purchase the items. In a separate activity, the he can learn how to pay for purchases.
It can be hard for mentally handicapped persons to recognize a word that appears in unusual typefaces abbreviations. Develop a list of community-based words and phrases that the adult needs to be able to recognize, such as "bus stop," "police," "emergency" and "restrooms." Through repetition and practice, help the student learn to read and recognize these words. Next, show the students photographs of those words as they appear in various locations around their community. Again, use repetition and practice to help the students learn to read and recognize these words. This will provide transferable reading ability, an important skill. You can also plan a field trip to allow students to recognize these words around their community or even assemble their own photo album.
Mentally handicapped adults can enjoy many leisure pursuits if they understand how to take turns. They must also understand how to wait for and take their turn in many other settings, including making purchases or anytime waiting in line is required. Explain the concept of taking turns. Then have the adult practice taking turns during an activity or game, prompting and modeling as needed. Practice taking turns in groups of different sizes. Practice waiting in line and taking turns. Provide positive reinforcement when the activity is completed successfully.