Reinforcing Positive Behaviors At Home Presented by Frank LoCurto, MS, BCBA, LBA

OPENING ACTIVITY In the “Challenging Behavior or Area of Struggle” box on your “Behavior Strategy” worksheet, please write down a challenging behavior you are currently experiencing with your child at home every, or most days. Now, please put away your paper and don’t take it out until I ask you to later.

Today’s Goals! Develop a clear understanding of Reinforcement. Gain a better perspective on why your child may be struggling in certain areas. Learn strategies to set your kids up for success at home. Learn tools to help your kids feel motivated through the process. Increase opportunities for reinforcement!

Let’s Break Down Some Reinforcement Behavior Something that happens during or after a behavior that increases the likelihood of that behavior happening again in the future! Reinforcement can either be something given (positive) or something taken away (negative). Reinforcement ALWAYS results in a behavior increasing! Anything we say or do. Behavior can be positive, negative or indifferent. For our kids, whether or not a behavior works in getting a need met for them will determine if they will keep doing it, not whether or not the behavior is appropriate or inappropriate (we need to help them learn this part).

Let’s Start to Make a Plan! Challenging Behavior Or Area of Struggle Goal Behavior Using a “better” way to communicate wants and needs (Asking for help, break, etc..) Performing the challenging task or learning the skill with proficiency and independence. Identify a challenging behavior or skill your child is struggling with. “What is my child trying to communicate?” “Why is my child struggling with this skill?”

Let’s Start By Boosting Functional Communication Fact!!! Nearly all behavior is communication. Our behavior can communicate that: - We want something (things, attention, etc..) - We don’t want something (work, change, people around us, etc..) Often times, kids learn that certain behaviors get them these things. They sometimes do not quite understand if they are “right” or “wrong.” They are aware, however, that they work!

Give Them a Better Way to Communicate! Strategies: - Model language for your child to verbally echo or express through their communication supports before engaging in negative behavior. Do this as much as possible! When possible, pair visual supports with the verbal models. Set these visual tools up in locations that are easily viewable by your child Provide your child with as many opportunities as you can each day to use language to get their needs met. Here, REINFORCEMENT is directly related to the language! The more times they use functional communication (positive behavior) the more times you can provide them with reinforcement!

Some Ideas For Communication Tools!

Turning a Challenging Task or Situation Into a Positive and Reinforcement-Rich Experience! If your child is struggling ask yourself three basic questions: - Is this something my child can do independently? - Have I made the expectations simple and clear? - Is my child motivated to do it? If the answer is “no” to any of these, the current plan needs some modification. Let’s tackle each one!

Increasing Independence Break it down. Determine what parts of a task or skill your child is able to do own his / her own. Maybe your child can do each part, but has trouble staying on task and linking it all together. Use a visual tool such as a “task schedule” to help keep your child on-task and outline each step. Provide support throughout to keep your child confident and successful --reinforce efforts! Keep communication tools available for your child to use to ask for “help” when needed.

Now, We Are Able to Reinforce: Efforts to complete each step of a task (Works like a Token Board!) Accepting our Support Using Appropriate Functional Communication Your child will likely feel good about accomplishing a goal!

Making Expectations Simple and Clear Reviewing expectations and rules at home, regularly, is extremely important. Having a visual reminder which clearly outlines these expectations is also very important. These expectations should be easily attainable for your child. Determining consequences for positive and negative behavior ahead of time will help your child better understand these limits and reduce negotiation. “First- Then” Boards are a great way to teach and illustrate limits and expectations!

Now We Are Able to Reinforce: Our kids for following rules they understand. Following expectations they can achieve. Complying with our directives (First-Then).

Keeping Motivation High Throughout Determine specific highly motivating things for your child. Reserve them for times when you need to teach new skills or change challenging behavior. This will keep their value high. Reinforcers are not permanent; kids’ interests change. Always assess what are strong reinforcers for your child. Use a visual, such as a token board, as a reinforcement system. It also serves as a tool to monitor progress toward a goal. Token boards allow you to provide positive feedback throughout, but delay giving the “big reinforcer” until the end or completion of task. With newer skills, reinforce very frequently. As your child improves, gradually scale the reinforcement back (more for less) while keeping it at a level which will keep them motivated.

Now, Our Kids Will Know what they are working for. What they need to do to get it. Be able to monitor their progress.

Some General Tips The “Catch them being good” strategy is extremely powerful, and something we typically don’t do enough. Take all the opportunities you can to provide reinforcement for your kids; it is the single most important component in making true behavior change. Keep it positive. If your child is resistant to changing his / her behavior, stay focused on communicating the positive outcomes for engaging in “expected” behavior. If a plan is not working, always go back to the reinforcement first; is it strong enough, is it frequent enough, is my child clear on what he / she is working for, and how much do they need to do to get it? Never negotiate with your child as a result of negative behavior. This will only teach them that acting out is a way to get what I want and get out of what I don’t want. Set those limits ahead of time and stick to them.

Closing Points Reinforcement is not an exact science; start with an initial plan, and work from there (be flexible). Consistency in delivering reinforcement, along with setting and carrying out rules and expectations will result in the quickest behavior change and learning of skills. Prompt and reinforce appropriate functional communication; remember, most behavior is communication, so there are plenty of opportunities to work on this each day! Focus on a few things at a time, don’t take on too much. You can do it!!!

CLOSING ACTIVITY Take out your “Behavior Strategy” worksheet again, and apply some of the things we discussed today to the difficult behavior you are trying to tackle with your child at home. Many of the points talked about today are included throughout this worksheet. Take a few minutes and then let’s talk about it!!

???QUESTIONS???

Resources Mayer, G.R., Sulzer-Azaroff, B. & Wallace, M. (2012). Behavior Analysis for Lasting Change (Second Edition). Cornwall-on- Hudson, NY 12520: Sloan Publishing. Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis (Second Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458: Pearson Prentice Hall.