Reinforcement is the basis of behavior analysis. Without reinforcement, your child won’t continue to show the behaviors we are teaching them. There are many considerations when practicing reinforcement. For example, reinforcement should be provided after every response for a brand new skill. If your child just learned to request for help, you would want to verbally reinforce his/her behavior every time (e.g., “Thank you for asking for help!”). You can also provide them with a preferred tangible.
Once he/she is able to show you this skill, you will want to fade your reinforcement to be every few responses, and then a variable amount of responses. Fading is super important so they do not become dependent on reinforcement. Make sure to discuss with your BCBA the best practices of reinforcement to use with your child.
Positive reinforcement is when you add something to your child’s environment in order to see a behavior increase in future responses. If your child is using a token board at home, you are utilizing positive reinforcement. Responses of a certain pre-determined behavior would provide them with a token. Typically,your child is working up to a bigger prize. These tokens/prizes are positively reinforcing your child’s behavior for future responses. As he/she moves towards independence, you would start to fade this reinforcement out. Reinforcement is only given if the behavior is shown properly. Following so, it is systematically faded until it is not needed.
Remember, reinforcement is not “bribing.” This is a common misconception in the field of ABA. Bribery is given before a person exhibits a desired behavior, whereas reinforcement is provided following a desired behavior shown to increase the likelihood it will continue. Bribery is not teaching the child a developmentally appropriate skill, but it is simply for the benefit of the other person. An example of this would be, “Be quiet and I’ll give you a candy.”
See what areas you can practice reinforcement with your child and let your BCBA know what works best. Having a personalized plan for reinforcement will guide him/her towards success!