Consistent reinforcement is often dependent on the child or disabled person not attaining the reinforcer when he has not met your goal or targeted appropriate behavior. If he is able to steal or grab the item without permission it is impossible for the parent or teacher to be consisent in reinforcing only appropriate behavior displayed. Some places or methods you might use to secure your reinforcers are included in the following.
1. Place items that are reinforcers such as electronic devices or edibles such as cookies high enough so the child or person you are motivating cannot reach it (ex. on a high shelf in the kitchen) until the appropriate behavior targeted is disabled.
2. Wait until the child goes to sleep and then remove the item earned the previous day and place it in a place the child is not aware of. 
3.  Place items such as cookies, chips, gummy bears that are not easily perishable in a car or trunck of a car. You can use a cooler if needed. Then lock the car after you get out so that the person (ex. child) cannot attain the items without you opening the car trunk. 
4.  Have you items in a token store which is a cabinet or a closet with shelves and a lock on the closet or cabinet so unauthorized access can not be attained until the target behavior has been achieved.
5.  If you are working with a child directly and holding the reinforcers store them in your pocket in a package or plastic bag or wear a pouch with a pocket to store the reinforcers more securely then just placing them on the table you are sitting at with the child. 
6.  You can use coupons for activities which is more secure or token chips to exhange later! 
The above methods will assist you to ensure less conflict over when he has earned the reinforcers and more consistant reinforcement which result in higher rates and speed in learning for your child!

The strength of the reinforcer determines whether you are able to change a behavior in your child. The following is a list of tips to assist you in discovering the most powerful reinforcers. 
1.  The first method is simply to ask your child (assuming he is verbal) what are his favorite things or activities in the world!
2.  Another technique is to talk with the child and during the conversation topics that he enjoys may come up.
3.  Observation of the child is another method. The therapist or parent can spend some time just observing the child to see what he enjoys doing!  If he plays with Legos everytime he has free time this may be a reinforcer for him. The Premack Principle in Psychology states in common words that the behavior that is frequently performed can be used to reinforcer lower frequency behavior. Therefore, observation to see what the child does most frequently during the day.
4.  Another method are to administer an inventory  or checklist which are commonly used by therapist to determine what items are reinforcing to a particular child. This can be done with the parent and or the child reporting what the want typically as reinforcers and the person records the responses on a checklist. 
5.  Reinforcer sampling first used with mental patients  inspired by Nathan Azrin is another method used to determine what items are reinforcing.  This techique utilizes a sample for the child (Ayllon, T. & Azrin, N. H. (1968). Reinforcer sampling: a technique for increasing the behavior of mental patients. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 13-20).

 

Parents should consider many of the issues below when a diagnosis for your child. 
1.  A diagnosis can assist in getting the correct treatment for your childs' specific problems.
2.  A daignosis can lead to attainment of financial assistance necessary to attain treatment.
3.  Some parents weigh the advantages of treatment verses the disadvantages of a child having a label of a diagnosis at a young age.
4.  Parents often consider the benefit of treatment verses the stigma the child might have as a result of the diagnosis. 
5. Parents might consider the fact that labels at a young age can be overlooked in the future once the behavior problems are resolved and the child is behaving appropriately in school and at home. 
6.  The long term costs of not treating a child with problems should be considered. It may cost thousands of dollars a year to care for a child with a disability or other diagnosis. The dollar costs should be considered.
7.  In addition to monetary costs parents might consider the social costs to the family as well as society. The family unit can easily be disrupted with a child with behavior problems. It can affect the marriage of the parents as well as people in society they are exposed to at stores, school, church, banks or even the grocery store. 
8. Finally, the child himself may have a lifetime of problems if his problems at an early age are not addressed with treatment.
The above are just a few of the things to consider in deciding whether to see a doctor or specialist and possibly receive a diagnosis as a young child. 

One thing to consider is what the location is for the time out you use with your child.  Parents or caregivers should make sure there is very little reinforcement available in the room used for time out. If the bedroom is full of fun toys and activities this is not an area for time out. Try to use a room with very few reinforcers or locate the toys in a separate cabinet in another play area or  room so that the bedroom is not a location full of reinforcers. 

When planning the reinforcers in your child's' day one should be careful to make sure they all work together.
Including a reinforcer for good behavior the entire day, reinforcers for specific behaviors and long term reinforcers.  When designing a program each of these should compliment each other. If you are reinforcing one behavior then the overall behavior for the day should not occur if a tantrum occurs for example while setting the table for a reinforcer. If you accidentally reinforce inappropriate behavior it may lead to the inappropriate behavior continuing to occur or even occurring more frequently. 

Parents with children with problems such as developmental disabilities or autism can try some of the following tips to increase the likllihood the family will have a pleasant holiday. 

Before the trip starts try reviewing all the plans. A written schedule if they can read or pictures of the locations can be helpful. Describe every step including the travel arrangements. Try to include the child in preparations for the trip including packing and shopping.  Describe specific reinforcers that he might like to receive during the trip for good behavior. You might even have the child select some of the reinforcers to be sure they are strong for the trip. 

During the trip bring specific reinforcers and times that they may be earned or specific behaviors that might result in earning a reinforcer.  During the trave time you can provide toys or activiites and reinforcers to assure that the trip goes smoothly. Also reveiew again while traveling what the itinearay will be and what is expected of the child when he arrives at the destination in order to earn reinforcers. For example, you might say "when we arrive we will greet all the relatives and tell them about the plane flight and what we did and ate on the flight!"

After arrival make sure you provide reinforcers at least daily for good behavior. Also, make sure to continue each morning to reveiw the itinary and the reinforcers.  Also, during the trip make sure the child eats the food that agrees with there body and sleeps enough hours in order to prevent behavior problems. Remember prevention is crucial in order to enjoy your vacation with your child!!

One of the biggest obstacles to teaching your child is realizing that things in life are not free. Parents or Caregivers will be more likely to reinforce once they accept this basic principle of reinforcement. Reinforcers need to delivered consistently.  If your child does do something good then this good behavior should definitely be rewarded.  In contrast, if the child is inappropriate then he should not be rewarded.  The first step is to try to reward any behavior that is positive. For example, if the child cleans his room or eats his breakfast be sure to reinforce your child.  Secondly, when your child cries or tantrums try not to reinforce your child. For example, the most common behavior is for parents to pick up and hug a child when he cries.  In contrast, the parent should realize that this would be giving a reinforcer for free. The child has not performed any appropriate behavior yet he is reinforced. We all work to get money for food and things that we want. We know that we will probably loose our job over time or not get commissions if we do not work.   Consistent reinforcement of behavior will lead to rapid learning and appropriate behavior. 

Parents and Caregivers may use "timers" to increase the consistency and effectiveness in reducing behavior problems such as  defiance, self-injury,  tantrums or aggression!  The timer can be an inexpensive kitchen timer or a timer on a clock, or a digital timer. the timer should be easy to set, loud enough for the child and trainer t hear and preferably portable for some behavior problems that occur in different rooms or locations. There are two major parts of the training that utilization of a timer might be helpful. The first part is during the collection of data specifying how long the behavior occurs to be counted as one incident may be crucial. For example, if a tantrum lasts for more than 2 hours it should not be counted the same as a tantrum that last for just a minute. Therefore, the caregiver might specify that each interval of  15 minutes or less is counted as one tantrum. The use of accuracy of data is important so that you know whether or not the treatment is working and whether you should change the intervention procedures. Secondly, the timer can be useful in timing the length of time to reinforce the child. For example, If the child does not know how long his reinforcement of using an ipad will last he may tantrum when you remove it in order to keep the reinforcer longer.  Therefore, it is helpful to tell the child that when the timer is finished in 20 minutes then it will be time to do another task and earn more reinforcement time or another reinforcer.  A timer is a very useful device in implementing your behavioral intervention. Even using your watch or a cheap kitchen timer can be utilized to establish whether your treatment is working, to make it clear how long the reinforcer will be delivered and assure consistency consistency consistency the application of consequences such as reinforcement. 

http://archive.weinetwork.com/shows/BrainMatters/Brain%20Matters022614-LindaMeckler-Azarin.mp3

People often believe that attractiveness is an advantage in the world.  However, there are times when attractiveness can be an a benefit to your child and other times it is a disadvantage in the world we live in. Below are some things to consider about your childs appearance in relationship to progress and learning in our society.

Appearance for example might be an advantage in many instances. 
1 For example, your child might be chosen first for a game. 
2. Many teachers or people in general might give more attention to the "attractive" child over an "unattractive child. 
3. People sometimes assume that an attractive child is more intelligent then he actually is just based on the initial first visual impression rather than performance. 

Appearance that is attractive could be a disadvantage in the following instances. 
1.  Teachers or parents may not be as consistent in applying consequences when a child is attractive compared to a child that is not attractive.  The teacher or might say to themselves in the case of an attractive child- "wow he is so cut maybe I will let him eat the cake anyway!"
2.  The child might be preoccupied with her own appearance compared to others and not attend to tasks. 
3.  The child may start to think they deserve more advantages then others or are "entitled" to certain priviledges and stop working as hard or feel upset when others earn things that they feel they are "entitled" to. 
4.  A child that is attractive may receive more reinforcers then they should for a minor tasks and may not be as motivated to complete more complex academic tasks. 

In general, it appears that perhaps children are better off with average or not to attractive appearance since they may receive more consisant and reliable reinforcers for the behaviors they perform. Parents should consider this about their childrens' appearance and its influence on learning  in the morning when they are dressing or grooming their children!