If you use ABA as your therapy for any possible reason and if your kid needs to be strongly motivated to get his job done, ABA therapists highly recommend use of chart table known as “TOKEN PLAN”. Use one while teaching during sessions as well as on daily basis. Generally it’s way easier to make visually understood the point that divide the exact moment from a point of getting a reinforcer in return for a good behaviour choices or/and correct responses.

Why?

Because it’s easy, fast and works really good once you get used to it. Your kid will work knowing when the reinforcer will be available. And the most important (for us for sure now) schools use those charts with kids and they know how to do it right. So basically starting as early as you can you prepare your kid for school challenges making his ‘kick off’ smooth and academic progress accessible.

When we started introducing tokens I was quite sceptical. I felt wrong as all those points giving and prizing system seemed to me ‘rude and crude’. There was a refusal obviously (from both me and my son) and it wasn’t easy to break the barrier.

But it worked at the beginning of our school adventure. It has evolved and became very natural after all.

Now we are not using it at home. When it comes to homework I actually use: “we have to do this, this amount, n numbers of pages, those exercises ” etc. At least visually preparing for what’s going to be for that exact hw session.

If talking about reinforcers at the beginning use stuff that motivate highly and are easily controllable by you. So for example if you work with tv – the remote should be in your hands, iPad – use short videos, games you can pause  or stop etc. This suppose to be something that ‘rests’ for 5-10 minutes and is not causing trouble with returning to the task.

Back to our tokens I prepare some ideas we used and which works perfectly not only at home or school but also elsewhere

Classic LEGO’s 

Stickers (whatever is satisfactory)

Cup Cake Printable Toppings laminated and with Velcro (superheroes or whatever is satisfactory)

LEGO Nexo Knights Power Shields

Learning Recourses Snap Cubes