Choice and Freedom: Reinforcers That Can Change Your Therapy Session
One of the great things about ABA is our emphasis on positive reinforcement. I think that was one of the initial concepts that won me over. A great book that I was introduced to on early on in my career was Glen Latham’s Power of Positive Parenting. I recommend this book to parents often. It highlights the incredible effectiveness of using positive reinforcement in shaping behavior for kids of all ages and it is a great intro to what we do in ABA.
With all that said, being a BCBA doesn’t simply mean writing and instructing the RBTs to throw positive reinforcement out there when the learner engages in the correct response. It means we need to understand the different kinds of reinforcement as whole. I think one of the challenges that we face as BCBAs is that we fail to realize that our learner’s motivation is influenced by more than positive reinforcement sometimes. In fact, a theme I see is that we simplify positive reinforcement to the point that many ABA staff think it is just social praise, toys, and iPads. That’s a start…
…but there’s more to it.
Today, I want to talk about two things that your learner wants, but might not be getting a lot of. These are two things that are super reinforcing to them. In fact, these two things are super reinforcing to all of us on a universal level. These two things, when used with positive reinforcement, might increase the learner’s motivation on an epic level!
So what are these two things that we can give a learner that might motivate them even more than their existing motivators?
First, Let’s dig in with a thought exercise:
It’s Thursday moving into Friday. You’re nearing the end of a long, busy work week. You have absolutely no weekend plans. Nothing. But you’re looking forward to the weekend. Even though you have nothing planned with friends and family and you haven’t planned any preferred activities, you’re super motivated for Friday afternoon to arrive.
How is it possible that you’re looking forward to the weekend that much when there’s nothing waiting for you? How are you this motivated for something that basically offers you zero positive reinforcement?
First, it’s because we aren’t motivated for positive reinforcement exclusively. It isn’t what is happening this weekend that is motivating. It’s what is not happening to you. You’re looking forward to the negative reinforcement that this coming weekend will provide. This weekend symbolizes and offers escape. It means that a break is coming. No calendars, no meetings, no deadlines…for 48 hours.
The second reason actually is a positive reinforcer embedded in your weekend that you probably didn’t recognize. As we’ve established, there aren’t any people, events, or specific activities that you have on your schedule. So what can that positive reinforcer be? Options. Choices. Possibilities.
Not only are you NOT working this weekend (negative reinforcement), you have the option to choose what you might do. During the week, your time is compromised. There are barriers to what you want to do and when you want to do it since you’re busy for 8 hours of each day. Time and responsibility don’t allow for spontaneity. However, an open weekend offers a positive reinforcer that most other 48 hour periods cannot. It offers the power to choose what you want to do when you want to do it. The option to pick and choose what you do is a powerful…and I mean powerful…reinforcer. Not simply because of the options that are available to you, but because the autonomy that comes with making a choice can be rewarding in and of itself.
The opportunity to opt in on one of many things—or choose—is motivating. The possibility to opt out—or escape—is also motivating. And, this being the science of HUMAN behavior, our learner’s find these same two things motivating as well.
So, next question, how are you incorporating choice making and negative reinforcement into your programs? Are you simply giving your learner access to a preferred item when they respond correctly? Are you just sending them to the playroom when they earn their tokens?
Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing in introducing choices and the opportunity to say “no” with positive reinforcement.
During preferred activities:
Allow them to choose or reject the number of reinforcers they want to engage with. Ex: “Do you want to play with one car, two cars, or three cars?”
Allow them to choose or reject how long they play? Ex: “Should we set our play timer for 1 minute, two minutes, or five minutes?”
Allow them to choose or reject who they play with? Ex: “Do you want to play next to Steven, Lindsay, or by yourself?” OR You say “Let’s play next to Steven” but they say “No” and you honor it.
Allow them to choose or reject where they play. Ex: “Do you want to play with the tablet in your room, in the playroom, or in the lunchroom?” OR You say “Let’s play tablet in the lunchroom!”. They say “No” and choose somewhere else. You honor it.
Allow them to choose or reject additional toys offered them during play. Ex: They are playing with cars but therapist periodically hands them other toys. They may say “No”. Therapist takes the toy away.
Allow them to choose or reject what you or therapist is doing during reinforcement time. Ex: “Can I sit next to you and watch you play Play Doh?” They may say “No”. You can honor the mand and give them space.
When transitioning:
Allow them to choose or reject which route to take when transitioning (if there are multiple ways to reach the destination). Ex: You’re learner chooses to play in the play room. You say “Awesome! Which hallway should we take to get to the playroom?”
Allow them to choose or reject when transitioning (as long as it is safe to do so). Ex: You’re going to the playroom. You ask them if they want to hold hands. They say “No”. You honor their mand for escape.
During work:
Allow them to choose or reject a work sequence or program when they perform well on a task that they typically struggle with. Ex: They get a correct answer on a tough task. You ask them if they want to keep working. They say “No”, you honor their mand for escape.
Allow them to choose or reject what to engage with next when they perform well on a certain task that they they typically have struggles with. Ex: They get a correct answer on a tough task. You say “DO you want to keep working, play with Play Doh, play Candyland, do puzzles, or go to the playroom?” Honor whatever choice they make.
Allow them to choose or reject work activities after returning to their workspace without problem behavior/more quickly than usual. Ex: Upon returning, you say “Let’s work!”. They say “No work, please”. You honor that mand for escape.
Offer them to choose or reject the first program when they return to the table. Ex: “Do you want to work on matching or building with blocks? Great! What should we work on after that?”
Allow them to choose or reject the token system for a work sequence. Ex: “Do you want to work for 5 tokens, 10 tokens, or 20 tokens?” OR “Let’s work for 20 tokens.” They say “no”, you say “Ok! Let’s work for 5 instead!” You can do this with reinforcers too.
Allow them to choose or reject certain programs for the remainder of the day—especially if they performed well on them. Ex: Present programs that are mastered/near mastery to the learner, but allow them to mand out.
Allow them to choose or reject the number of tokens, the reinforcer, or the number of reinforcers when they respond correctly to certain programs. Ex: “Good job matching! How many tokens do you want?”
Allow them to choose or reject where they work. Ex: “Good job matching! Do you want to stay and work at the table or do you want to work on the bean bag?”
A few follow up points:
You’re pairing better. If you’re offering more opportunities to mand out of lesser preferred circumstances, more choices, AND more preferred items, activities, and social praise, you might be tripling or quadrupling your pairing power.
Autonomy and independence are deeply motivating to all of us. You’re tapping into an intrinsic, healthy motivator. I talked about how predictability is motivating for all of us—that’s why we teach time management/measurement. Additionally, autonomy is as well—that’s why we offer choices and the option to say “no”. Doing so creates a better learning state for you and the learner.
More manding. If we are tripling or quadrupling our reinforcement opportunities, we’re also tripling and quadrupling our manding opportunities. You can end up teaching a lot of language with this approach.
Every kid is different. Some kids may be overwhelmed with the amount of choices you’re giving them. Remain sensitive to this and watch when you’ve submerged your learner with opportunities. These are ideas and they are ideas aimed at giving your learner much needed autonomy. Be sensitive what does and doesn’t work.
As always, I absolutely LOVE hearing your feedback and hearing MORE ideas. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
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