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What is Reinforcement?

May 30, 2019 by Joeleen Lynch

Reinforcement is the most important principle of Applied Behaviour Analysis. Reinforcement involves consequences that strengthen behaviour. It is anything that will increase the likelihood of a behaviour occurring again in the future.

An example of reinforcement can be: you go for a run, and afterward s you are very thirsty, so you drink a glass of water. After drinking the water you are no longer thirsty. In future, when you are thirsty you will drink a glass of water. This is a practical, real-life desmontration reinforcement as it resulted in an increase of the behaviours reoccurring.

With reinforcement, there are two different types: positive and negative. Often people associate the words “positive” and “negative as meaning “good” or “bad”, but this is not the case. In ABA terms, positive simply means addition of something and negative means the removal of something.

The example above shows negative reinforcement, as the thirst was removed. So, if a particular stimulus removes something we don’t like, we are likely to perform that behaviour again in the future.

Positive reinforcement is when a particular behaviour adds or presents something you like into your environment.

An example of this would be a parent gives their child an ice-cream for finishing their dinner. The child will learn that the behaviour of eating their dinner results in the addition of a preferred item (ice-cream), so in the future they are more likely to eat their dinner.

Reinforcement is an important consideration when we are trying to increase any behaviour; communication, play, social skills, or academic skills.

How to use reinforcement?

  1. Reinforcers are individual to each child. We must select items or activities that we know the child really enjoys. A child’s interests can change weekly, daily or even within sessions so it is important to have a variety of reinforcers available.
  2. At the start, reinforcement should be given every time to teach a new behaviour.
  3. Reinforcement must be delivered immediately after the desired behaviour occurs.
  4. Reinforcement should match the behaviour. Save the best reinforcement for the best responses.  
  5. Pair social praise with objects and activities. We want the child to be reinforced by social attention only, eventually, so they do not need to access particular items and activities all of the time.
  6. Begin to fade out reinforcement by only offering it some of the time, not always, so the child doesn’t become dependent on reinforcement.

Uncategorized reinforcement

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Does your child find it difficult to complete some activities, requests or skills that you know they can? Try build up their confidence by getting them to complete easier actions or requests.

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2 days ago
Does your child find it difficult to complete some activities, requests or skills that you know they can? Try build up their confidence by getting them to complete easier actions or requests. 

When completing easier tasks it reduces frustration levels, because they are having success on easy tasks, increasing the likelihood that they will try harder activities or requests. Once they are happily responding then try the more difficult task. If it doesnt work the first time, don’t worry,  just try again!

This helps with many activities and requests and is super helpful with transitioning.

#reachchildrens #reachchildrensservices #behaviouralmomentum #behavioralmomentum #bcba #buildconfidence #success #setupforsuccess #toptip #specialeducation #parenttraining #parentsupport #autism
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1 week ago
Children may be feeling more anxious at the moment due to the changes in routine from being off school. Visual supports  increase  understanding and independence. They have shown to reduce anxiety as children know what is expected of them and what is happening during the day.

Very importantly, visual supports allow time for language processing, as verbal instructions need to be remembered whereas visual supports can be there to serve as a reminder or to allow the child to process and understand the information. 

Sometimes people might associate visual supports with younger children or children with more complex needs but that is not the case. Visual supports are a super addition to any child or adult, one example is using a shopping list to remember what you need to purchase when doing the grocerys. 

Visual supports can be an object, a picture, written text etc. depending on the individual needs of your child. 

#visualsupports #reachchildrens #processinformation #reduceanxiety #increaseunderstanding #autism #anxietymanagement #bcba #specialeducation
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2 weeks ago
Happy Easter everyone! 🐣 

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out our free downloadable activity pack to keep the little ones busy. Go to www.reachchildrens.com and select resources 🐰 

#reachchildrens #reachchildrensservices #specialeducation #specialneeds #easterholidays #bcba #autism #autismawareness #autismacceptance #parenting
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