Knowing Reinforcers = Knowing Learners: Helping Your People Connect With Their Kiddo
Today, a topic that resonates with all of us working in ABA—Reinforcers. Understanding what motivates our learners is not just a fundamental part of our practice.
It’s kind of an art…and it takes time to learn that art for some people.
It requires insight, patience, and a strategic approach. And we say that reinforcement (and the consequence) is a big deal, but sometimes we’re not amazing at recognizing a learner’s reinforcers even when they’re obvious.
If I had a dollar for instances were a clinician lost touch with a learner’s preferences…and then lost the learner completely…well, let’s just say, I’d have a lot of dollars.
The Essence of Knowing Reinforcers and Punishers
To truly know your learner is to understand their reinforcers and their aversions to certain punishers. While this might sound elementary, it's surprising how often both new and seasoned practitioners, including RBTs and BCBAs, observe a kiddo’s behavior throughout the day without a clear grasp of what truly motivates them. More crucially, the intensity of these motivations can sometimes remain elusive even to the most experienced clinicians.
The Role of Value-Based Reinforcement
One of the key strategies I advocate for involves categorizing reinforcers as high, moderate, and low value. Recognizing these tiers of motivation can significantly enhance our interventions, making our approaches more tailored and effective. It's not just about identifying what the reinforcers are; it's also about understanding their relative value in the child's life.
Furthermore, it’s important to categorize which events or variables change the value in those reinforcers. Sometimes the playroom isn’t as valuable when it’s louder than usual. Sometimes the the iPad isn’t as valuable when certain apps aren’t installed. Sometimes attention isn’t as valuable in the mornings as it is in the afternoons.
Practical Applications in Daily Sessions
Here’s something practical I’ve been encouraging teams to implement: At the end of each session, have RBTs list out what the learner was motivated for…and which tasks, locations, individuals, contexts that the learner didn’t really enjoy. They should also label these as high, moderate, and low-value motivators in addition to a separate list for “aversives”. This practice is beneficial for multiple reasons:
Continuity Across Shifts: If there are multiple therapists working with the same learner, such as a morning and an afternoon therapist (or maybe your company does MWF and TR therapists), this list provides a seamless handover. The afternoon therapist, for instance, can quickly gauge what 'turned the crank' of the learner earlier in the day, which can guide their session plans.
Avoiding Satiation: It’s crucial to monitor if a high-value reinforcer has been used extensively to the point the learner is absolutely bored by it. Over exposure to the reinforcer can change the learner’s relationship with it…to the point it becomes aversive. Knowing this helps the next therapist decide if they should taper its use to avoid that satiation.
Enhancing Therapist Observation Skills: This practice pushes RBTs to sharpen their observational skills. It goes beyond simply noticing what works as a reinforcer but to gauge the subtleties of how different factors combine to influence that motivation for each reinforcer.
Beyond Simple Reinforcers
While it might be straightforward to list things like "iPad, fruit snacks, or juice" as motivators, I challenge clinicians to think deeper. For instance, was it just the playroom, or was it the xylophone in the playroom? Was there a specific peer or a particular music video that enhanced the appeal of the playroom at that time?
Understanding these nuances allows us to not just know what motivates but also the context in which these motivations are heightened. This level of detail can significantly impact the effectiveness of our interventions and the satisfaction of our learners.
Closing Thoughts
This method of jotting down reinforcers doesn't need to be overly scientific or rigid. It’s about guiding our therapists to pay closer attention and think more critically about the motivations of our learners. And it allows BCBAs to take a little ROI. You’ll start to quickly notice when a therapist needs extra help in assessing a learner’s motivation as they’ll usually list motivators you hadn’t…or overlook motivators that you have.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this approach. Have you tried similar strategies? What impact have they had on your practice? Drop your comments below, and let’s keep this important conversation going!
Martin Myers is a BCBA with a passion for helping improve the field of ABA. He is the creator of BxMastery, with over 4,000 goal ideas, sequenced, to inspire your programming. With 10+ years of experience in the field, he’s dedicated to empowering others and fostering positive change through effective leadership and communication. Connect with Martin on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more insights and updates.