Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Reward the Behavior You Want

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been sharing some valuable information I've learned about how to help my 11-year-old son with autism deal with some challenging behaviors.

First, I told you about giving effective directions, then I told you what happened when we stopped punishing bad behavior and started praising good behavior.  Now, let's take praise a step further to rewarding.  We set up a reward system for Nathan to help motivate him to get things done- like homework and getting ready for school.
This is a sample reward chart some other parents
in my class used.  It breaks down behaviors/tasks into
easy understand steps
A reward can be small or big.  He can get it right away, or save up points (or checks or stickers) for a bigger prize later.  A lot of therapists and teachers have tried reward charts with Nathan before, but he doesn't really care about most prizes, so they haven't worked well.  I set up a system where he could earn his favorite things- either the computer or video games.  Instead of just giving him the computer and video games, and taking them away if he had an outburst, he would earn minutes on the computer for doing things he has to do anyway. Some activities would be worth 5 minutes, some 10, and some 15!  We also agreed to some larger prizes that he could work towards- family movie night, a trip to the zoo, a visit to the library.
This is Nathan's reward chart.  We reward him for just
about everything he has to do during the day.
You can decide what will motivate your child.  Some kids love a grab bag or prize box filled with little toys and games.  Nathan has never been motivated by this- many teachers and even doctors offices have them, but he just doesn't care enough!  Some kids love candy, so a couple M&M's could be a good reward.

Once you decide what behaviors you want to work on, then you need to talk to your child about the chart.  Choose a calm day and place to explain the new point chart.  Start by talking to your child about the rewards he will be able to earn. Ask if he has any suggestions for other prizes.  Go through the chart and explain how many points he can earn for each behavior and how he can get some prizes immediately or save up for a bigger prize!  Be enthusiastic!  Rewards and prizes are fun!  Next practice the behavior with your child.  Model what you want him to do, then have him do it.  He even earns rewards for practicing!  Don't just practice once, practice again and again to get him used to the system and to help him earn rewards faster!

Now, you're ready to get started!  Good luck, you can do this.  It's not easy, but in the long run it will be worth it.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this tip Becky. This behavior chart sounds like a good idea. I hope it works out for other children as well.

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