Reinforcement

A child learns something new because there is something that is inherently motivating to the thing being learned. Motivation can be from a variety of different sources. It can be something tangible (e.g., food or toys), it can be a reduction in effort (e.g., Using a spoon gets my cereal into my mouth quicker and more easily), or getting some type of need met (e.g., attention). One way to talk about motivation in connection with learning is to talk about reinforcement. Reinforcement is anything that increases the likelihood that something will happen again.

When you are teaching a child a new skill (or they are simply learning a new skill on their own without tutelage), imperatively, you have to think, if I were the child - would I do the thing you are asking me to? Why would I? Why would I want to? If you are trying to potty train your child, but every time they use the potty, the child has to sit there bored and then, when she finally does go, she has to laboriously take the stupid sticker off the stupid paper and put it on another stupid paper! When if she had just gone in her diaper? The child could have continued to play without interruption! Being able to play is much more motivating! A sticker might make sense to an adult, but whether or not it is motivating to a child, depends on that specific child!

The single most reinforcing thing we can DO to influence another person, across the board, is positive social attention. This is not referring to praise. Positive social attention is literally paying 100% attention to another along with a smile. Attention and a smile. You do this so often, you probably don't even realize you are doing it.

Baby waves hand up and down at you. You pay attention, you smile. Baby moves hand up and down again! You pay attention. You smile even bigger! Baby thinks "Wow! This is magic!!" 

There also might be opportunities where this type of reinforcement would be superior to what we typically do in United States culture. We provide positive attention all day long to children to shape their behavior. The tricky thing is for kids with social deficits, is that, positive attention may not, yet, be reinforcing.

If this is our own child or a child we are working with, we have to find alternative ways to provide reinforcement. Which can be tricky, because we smile and pay attention without usually thinking about it. A child will give you clues when positive social attention is not reinforcing to him and her: the child gives absolutely no reaction to your type of reinforcement (not even a subtle reaction), the child's behavior does not change over time, (by behavior I mean ANYTHING a child does, not just "naughty behavior"). 

Fortunately, kids usually find something motivating, even if it is somewhat tricky to figure out because it may not be something you or I would find motivating. The following are my top two alternative reinforcers for kids with social deficits:

1.  Provide sensory input

•  Deep pressure is my GO TO for kids on the spectrum. Pressure on the hands, pressure on the shoulders, wherever that specific child seems to enjoy it. I have had several kids that have liked pressure on the sides of their heads. Pay attention and notice if the child relaxes, moves in closer, or does any other subtle cue.

2.  Provide a tangible reinforcer

• Some situations lend themselves to providing a tangible reinforcer easier than others. But you can get creative - it might help to build tangible reinforcers into routines so that a child can learn to expect it. You can also use "First, then" (whether with words or with pictures). The tricky thing with first-then, is that the child never, ever, gets the second thing unless the first one happens. For examples, "First come here, then squishy." If the child never "comes here," then he never gets his squishy.

That being said, however, a long term goal is to help a child develop greater social relationships and as part of those relationships, find social "stuff" more meaningful and reinforcing. Always pair sensory and tangible reinforcers with a smile and positive attention. 

All we can do is continue to try,

Amanda