3 Examples of Reinforcement Systems for Children with Autism

3 Examples of Reinforcement Systems for Children With Autism

Reinforcement systems are well-established learning philosophies and have been shown to be effective for children with autism in expanding a variety of skills that uphold over time and show generalization effects over a range of conditions. Here are three examples:

1. In a token economy, a person is taught that an item such as a ticket (token) can be traded for other preferred items such as toys or for access to a preferred activity such as TV watching. Then, the behavior that one wishes to reinforce (make more likely in the future) is talked about and understood. If the child does the said behavior, a token (or tokens) is given to the child. When enough tokens are earned, the child can then trade these in for the preferred items or activities.
2. Behavior contracts are documents that discuss a dependent relationship between completing a specific behavior and receiving a specified reward..
3. Under group-oriented contingencies, a reinforcer is given or taken away, depending on the behavior of an individual within the group.