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Last week we talked about using a behavior strategy of requiring preferred tasks before a child gets a positive reinforcement. An example was when your homework is done you may have two pieces of candy. A reader asked a great question. What happens if you can't get your child to transition from the preferred activity when it's time for the reinforcement to be done. That usually means he has to transition to a non preferred activity. If the child struggles to make that transition it is so easy to resort to negative Reenforcement. " Get off the computer now or you will lose all screens until tomorrow." I know you understand. That's because we have all been there. Let me outline a few things that might help.
It is important to structure the environment for success. Structure the space so there are few distractors where the Reenforcement will take place. Let me give you a example. I was potty training a child who had been fighting going into the bathroom and attempting to go potty. I had a visual support saying yes. We practiced "when mom or Miss Ruth say lets go into the bathroom, you say yes." We practiced and practiced and made it fun. The anxiety this child felt from the request was not present in these "yes" practice sessions. When I said "let's go to the potty" and we yelled "yes" and ran into the bathroom, she was there before she realized she had not refused. The next thing I found is that she was playing with all the things in the bathroom. I emptied everything from the room that wasn't permanently attached. She refused but I told her we would stay in the room (I guarded the door) until she sat on the potty for three minutes. We had a few difficult transitions but it wasn't long until she understood the structure and complied. It is important to have few physical distractions so the child can deal with the adult's demand without being able to avoid it by escaping into other things.
Another important aspect of using positive reinforcement is isolating a powerful reinforcer(s). What do I mean? If there is something a child cAn only get by doing what the adult wants, it will help make positive reinforcement. For example, if there is a tv program your child loves, record it. The only way he can have access to this is by transitioning back to a non preferred activity when the timer rings. He has to earn it. It isn't an automatic right. This is the key to using positive reinforcement. If the reinforcer isn't powerful enough, it won't work. You may need to change the reinforcer from time to time to make sure it is powerful enough.
If this is different than how you have done things, communicate the new system and make sure your child thoroughly understands it. It may take a few tries with some strong behavior as you are making changes using this new approach. This is especially true if your child is use to having access to a preferred activity and now he can only have it by earning it. Stay strong. Everything new requires some training, this is particularly true for your child. New is usually non-preferred. No exception here!
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