Choosing rewards can be tricky. You may think it's easy to "bribe" toddlers with suckers or stickers to go potty. Then, when they get older, maybe a trip to the park after the grocery shopping if they are "good".
Some children have such undesirable behaviors, parents or teachers may give up quickly when conventional forms do not work.
When helping children learn, you need three key things:
1)Individuality
2)Creativity
3)Think of child's needs above your own and weigh what really matters.
4)Consistency
Individuality: Always remember each child is an individual, despite knowing a sibling, or their diagnosis....whatever preconceived notions should come second to simply getting to know the child. See what really makes them interested...what makes them smile...what they are good at and enjoy. At the same time, note what weaknesses they have and be in tune to why they might have this behavior. One size does not fit all when it comes to picking goals and/or reward systems.
Example:
A sticker chart. Teacher's LOVE themselves a good 'ole sticker chart. Cheap and easy. And may work really well for some students. Others will not care one bit. I saw this with my son's. One uses a sticker chart proudly. The other needed to earn a cookie after getting five stickers. Be flexible and be ok with changing a reward system. Some kids like time outside, running in the gym, being read to, talking to them, playing a board game one on one with an adult.
This leads me to the next key: Creativity. Once you know the student, you can be creative in encouraging the good behavior with something specific to their "likes".
I once worked with a four year old who just would not poop on the potty. He would poop in his pants or squat on the floor in his bedroom rather than go on the toilet. This particular child was constantly on the go...tons of energy and his parents thought he was just too busy to stop playing to run to the bathroom. He was also an only child, who had two bedrooms with piles and piles of toys, daily candy and treats anytime he wished. It was a challenge to figure out something he would like enough to encourage that trip to the bathroom.
This child also had Sensory Processing Disorder, so I was aware of the possible discomforts of bathrooms he would need to overcome. After establishing a bathroom routine, the sensory issues in the bathroom started to fade, but he was still having accidents.
Sticker chart. Nope.
Candy Reward? Nope.
Then I found one of his true loves....ChuckECheese. The idea was forming and I weighed whether I could really pull it off. He asked me everyday since he had been to ChuckECheese for a birthday party if he could go back. It was a twenty five minute drive away, so this was something new and fun he did not get to normally do.
I took a leap of faith. I told him he could go if he went poop in the potty. And then I had to be prepared to follow through.
He did. That day, in fact. And the minute he was wiped up, we headed out the door.
I gave him four quarters and we were there for 20 minutes, but he was ecstatic!
Two days later...no accidents....he goes in the potty....same routine.
So how long were we going to pull this off?? His parents asked the same question....but I had it all planned out. After two weeks and six trips to ChuckECheese...I told him the next time he went on the potty we would go ride the toys at Walmart....you know the one's the kids always want to ride? It was closer and cheaper and he loved it...didn't even care it wasn't ChuckECheese. Then we worked our way to the park....just across the street. It was amazing how this kid, who seemed unteachable to some, learned so quickly once he had my trust.
Most interventions are not this elaborate.
One autistic child I worked with did not have a lot of physical energy. He was often carried by his parents and caregivers and had come to expect it. He was always very tired and did all tasks with the least amount of effort possible. This proved challenging when encouraging him to participate in Gym class. I took what I knew about him personally. He followed me everywhere. I knew he loved it when I was silly and played with him. So, when he was expected to run with the class for a game, rather than focusing on "playing the game" which he did not understand, I worked on getting him to run. How? Well, I ran with him! I started walking off to get him to follow me. Then, I would go faster and he would go faster to catch up with me. I turned around and laughed and asked him if he was trying to catch me. He giggled and smiled and started to gallop. So, I ran started to jog, and let him catch me once he jogged to my pace. I grabbed him around the waist from behind and picked him up about 1 inch off the ground and swung him giving him praises for "catching" me. He LOVED this game! I increased the speed and length of time before I would let him catch me and soon he was running laps with periodical "swings" in between.
One of my favorite experiences was potty-training an autistic kindergartner. This kid reminded me so much of my son, with all his "TV-talk" and animated movements. He was so fun! When teaching him to use the potty, he was not very interested. We tried special books and social stories. The first time he used the potty, I was so excited for him, I swooped him up under the arms( his pants around his ankles) and swung him in a circle giving lots of animated praise. Because of his love for routines, he preferred me taking him to use the restroom so this could be part of our routine. As time went by, he would go potty on his own, and then spin in a circle and act our our routine on his own. Some people will criticize, I know, but in my experience, these types of rewards are weaned away as you begin to tackle other behaviors or goals.
In my opinion, an example of a reward system that doesn't work, looks like this:
A child is expected to participate in shooting hoops with a playground ball. This particular child has difficulty understanding tasks, especially when left alone, and when he is in an unusual setting....where maybe he has not practiced this skill before. The caregiver puts him in the middle of the gym in front of a hoop that is very high. She gives him a piece of candy and then sits in the bleachers. The child stands there with the ball, not knowing what to do and starts to get agitated after a few minutes. The well-intentioned caregiver runs out to him with lots of "good-job" praises and gives him another piece of candy. She continues this cycle. The child never attempts to throw the ball.
In this situation, the child has learned, only, when I get agitated, someone will give me candy, thus reinforcing behavior to become whiny when he wants candy.
So, when you choose a reward system, it has to make sense to the child. It has to be what they think is a reward and for the right reasons.
One student was given Ipad time as a reward for doing a required task. (Another new fav of teachers in this technology age.) Even though it was her free time, she was expected to use the Ipad appropriately...sit at a desk, and no hitting the screen. This is reasonable, and if she did these things the Ipad was taken away and she could choose from another reward activity she enjoyed. But, when she used the Ipad she was just learning about, she would click on app after app after app. The teacher did not like this and thought she should stay on one app for the whole time and used a special lock to keep her there. Even though she had chosen the app, she didn't want to stay there, and so when it locked up she lost interest and left the Ipad after only a minute or two.
Looking at it from another perspective might help one to understand why this child might have used the Ipad in the way she was.
Do you remember the first time you used apps, an Ipad, or Android? Was it confusing at first? Did you spend a lot of time clicking on things you didn't mean to until you figured out what you wanted?
When this child was able to explore this device, as long as being appropriate, she was figuring it out! She was trying to see what everything was....what was fun and interesting and what wasn't. Once she had the hang of it, she found the photo app and took pictures of herself. One time, a boy she had a crush on got in the picture. She was soooo happy that every time she was allowed Ipad time, she was able to find that picture and smile the biggest grin!
Think of child's needs above your own and weigh what really matters.
If it is their reward, let them choose it and deal with it. I don't care how many times you have to listen to Barney, read a book, or sing a song....GET OVER IT! This is about THEM and NOT YOU. Don't change up their routine when it is their choice time. If it is recess and all the kids get to do whatever they want for 45 minutes (granted it is safe) then let your special needs child pick their activity as well. And if that means you push a swing for each recess for five years...DO IT! :)
Consistency: They are smart. They are only going to comply if you have shown them they can trust you to hold up your end of the bargain!
I know this has been a long post and if you have stuck with me this long, I appreciate it! I hope this helps some people who may be looking for ways to help their special needs loved ones!
***Be prepared! If you use a reward for something like going to the bathroom, the child may figure out they can go to the bathroom 10x throughout the day and squeeze a little tinkle out to get the reward. You need to be prepared to keep up your end of the bargain! If you promised a 30 min Elmo video each time, you may be in trouble, because you need to keep up your end of the bargain for the child to trust you enough to listen to you. This relationship is built and functions on trust. You have to do what you say you are going to do or they will not believe you or comply. That being said, you have to think ahead if your reward is practical.
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