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 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. 

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! 

When your child reaches the age of 16- 18 parents start to hear from others that it is important to proceed to attain adjudication if this was not done yet.  Parents can attain the paperwork to do this or information from a social worker or online generally.  When the child is a minor the parent is automatically the guardian but once they become an adult this must be established in the courts.  There are many things to consider when you are thinking about whether to purse guardianship and competency for your child. The following are some of the important things to consider in making this decision.
1.  The first issue is that if your child remains competent as an adult he may be subject to any punishment that adults receive for his behavior in the community. Usually the consequences legally for adults are more severe then for a child that has not  been adjudicated incompetent and has a parent as a guardian. 
2.  The issue of guardianship has become very visible in the newspaper recently in the past 10 years and there are alot of support systems in place at this time to help parents accomplish this legal procedure.  For example, there are some pro bono, legal aide  or lower rates that may be available if you consult with a lawyer specializing in this area or with a social worker.  In the past people often can attain assistance from lawyers as "pro- bono" or from other sources based on their salary.
3.  There are different types of adjudication and guardianship. For example, there is one type of guardianship which is only over medical decisions and this may be attained at a lesser cost.  Parents may want to start out with guardianship over medical concerns and later attain full guardianship over other areas for their adult child. 
4. If any medical issues come up the parent as a medical guardianship can make these decisions.  For example, if your child is told by the doctor he needs a feeding tube the parent will have the right to decide when this might be done or whether the risks outway the benefits to your child and discuss this with the doctor. Without the guardianship procedures may be done without input from the guardian of the medical issues.
5.  Guardianship and adjudication may affect certain benefits your child can receive and parents should consult with the support co-ordinator or social worker for information regarding the financial implications.
6.  Funding and budgets in the future may include the legal status in decisions about eligibility for benefits.
7.  Parents should consult with doctors, social workers, lawyers and legal aide professionals and research in books or google to make a definite decision about guardianship and adjudication. 
In general, guardianship and adjudication should be pursued to protect your child's health, welfare, financial benefits and avoid legal problems for the future of your child. 

Parents or even caregivers with other children in the home sometimes forget about the other children in the home. It is important to keep in mind that the other children should be considered along with all factors in the home of a child with special needs. The following are some ideas that will optimized the effectiveness of your treatment package through the inclusion of the other children in the home. 
1.  Any reward program should be available to all the children in the home. If you child with special needs is receiving a token or reward system then include all children in this program. By including everyone the children all feel they are treated equally and will not feel resentment or anger towards the child with special needs when they receive reinforcers such as a cookie or an outing.  If the other children are resentful or angry that might result in more aggression and aggitation or non-compliance from the child with special needs. 
2.  When consequences such as loosing an outing occurs then you have a choice of either having both children loose the outing or making sure the child with good behavior gets some alternative reward.  The most important factor is that the child with special needs realizes he earns the outing only after good behavior.  In the case where the other child is good it is usually better to have both children loose the priveledges since that way the child without special needs may help his brother to avoid having tantrums in the future.  However, it can also be helpful to have the special needs child see the other child get the reinforcer for good behavior. Either method is useful. Parents should try to see which method results in more improvements in the children's behavior. The only crucial factor is that the consequence of not earning it for the special needs child is implemented consistantly.
3.  If the child with special needs requires alot of doctor appointments it may be helpful to take the other child with you and see the doctor for a general check-up or any minor issues they have. This will help to include him and avoid the situation in which the "normal" child is not getting as much attention and time from the parents. This can also be accomplished by offering another fun activity for the "normal" child while his sibling is at the doctor office. 
4.  If the child with special needs has special equipment such as ipad or toys it is good to provide the "normal" child with some other equivalent toy or equipment while working with the special needs child. What often happens is parents focus on teaching the special needs child something on the computer and the "normal' child begins to tantrum and resent the special needs child. This can be avoided by having similar alternative equipment or taking turns with the equipment you do purchase for the special needs child. 
5. If the "normal" sibling is able to understand the parent can ask him to help teach his brother something. This is useful since they can facilitate even more learning and even run some of the reward programs you have set-up for the special needs child.  A general description would be useful of what you are trying to teach his brother.  Try to avoid any negative statements about how smart he is and focus on just learning new things.  Always praise the "normal" child for helping by saying things like " you are so helpful you taught your brother to sing the alphabet!"

Generally, including the other siblings needs and assistance can promote faster progress for you child. The siblings are part of the family system and the enviorment that the special needs child lives in and can contribute to teaching and progress of your child with special needs.  If they are not considered or addressed it can actually slow the learning progress. All family members should be a part of the treatment plan!