Rienforcers are difficult to choose that are effective. Some ideas to make them more effective are listed below.
1. The definition of a reinforcer is something that increases the probablity of the behavior. Therefore this should be considered and determine in order to select an effective reinforcer. The larger the increase in the probabliyt that occurs the more powerful the reinforcer may be. 2. The reinforcer selected can be determined by several methods. One is formal assessment tools, observation of the childs behavior or simply interviewing the child or caregiver to find out what he likes most in the world! 3. Giving the child choices of several powerful reinforcers is a great idea since the reinforcers may not be as effective on different days. For example, if the child likes chocolate he may not like chocolate every day and may be full! Therefore, if he has choices then another reinforcer might be used on some days. 4. Finally, another tip is to select reinforcers that are easily attainable since if they are not the parent or caregiver may not be able to deliver them consistantly. More tips will provided in the future good luck with this start on making your reinforcers as effective as possible each :)
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Obesity is very common in the past few years in children. Parents can use some of the following behavioral techniques to assist their children to maintain or loose weight when it is recommended by their doctor.
1. Environmental structuring of the home is a basic behavioral technique that can be used. One example is to have only healthy snacks in the refrigerator and kitchen so that when the child is hungry he will eat something healthy. 2. A second environmental technique is to reduce access to the refrigerator. Some newer refrigerators have locks that can be activated or deactivated. This is particularly useful with extreme obesity or Kids with problems such as "Prader Willi" syndrome. 3. A third technique is scheduling which leads to less snacking between meals. Children can be informed that eating is to occur only at meals and during two snacks during the day. 4. Another behavioral technique is to reduce the size of the plate at meals so that it looks like more food. 5. Encouraging children to chew each bite at least 10 times so that they digest the food. 6. Eating only when hungry and not for social reasons can help children to loose weight. 7. Parents can take time to explaining long term and short term consequences of weight gain and over eating or eating unhealthy. 8. Children can be encouraged to participate in shopping and purchasing healthy items rather then items that are high calorie. 9. Parents can purchase books to read that talk about healthy eating and eating food from each food group. 10. Parents might try regularly scheduled weight and height measurements to increase awareness of health and eating habits and the effect on weight. 11. Another concern is making sure to schedule specific limited amount of time for sedentary activities like computer or television. Exercise time should also be included in the schedule each day. It is never to early to start encouraging healthy eating habits, reinforcing these habits and discussing consequences for you children to encourage healthy eating habits in your children as they become adults! Parents and caregivers often forget or do not realized the importance of a daily schedule. This schedule should include two specific types of events at the least. These are describled and listed below. A detailed schedule which includes both activities and rienforcers will usually lead to elimantion of inappropriate behavior and maintenance of good behaviors.
The first thing that should be included in a schedule is the actual activities and the time frames in which they occur. Some examples include activities such as school, workshop that occur on a daily basis during week-days. Also, include activities such as outings or vacations that may occur only once a month or once a week. Another type of activity are self-care activities that occur daily such as going to the bathroom, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, dressing. Also, daily living activities such as chores of wiping the table, taking the trash, making the bed, moping, cooking or cleaning the dishes. Bedtime and time to wake up are important factors to include in the schedule since children need more sleep and behavior problems are often correlated with a lack of sufficient sleep for people. The more detail is preferred so that if another caregiver is there even just for a few hours the routine is still followed. Also, children with autism and developmental delays as well as any child prefer to have a routine which reduces frustration and confusion related to what activities will be done that day. Secondly, caregivers or family should include in the daily schedule reinforcers. For example, time to use the computer, television, radio, toys can be built into the schedule as available if the behavior is good. A token exchange or time to choose a reinforcer can also be included in the schedule. The schedule should be updated and reviewed regularly for any changes needed in order to assure that it produces the maximum beneficial effect on the childs' behavior! Behavior therapist frequently use adaptive equipment during training and later if possible fade out the equipment. For self-care skills training they might use a small potty for the child to make it easier to sit initially during training. For eating skills a built up spoon, plate or non-skid mat might be used. Adaptive equipment can be attained from catalogues, online or with the assistance of occupational therapy. Later after the skill is accomplished some of the adaptive equipment can be adjusted to other sizes and gradually faded out.
Activities such as walking, riding a bike mike also start with training using the adaptive equipment and as the person learns the skill it can be faded out to the next least restrictive assisstive device. Children with developmental disabilities often have some motor skills problems as well. Motivation to overcome the disability can sometimes result in fading the device partially, fading to less restrictive devices and discontinuing the use of the device completely or just using the device for more strenuous longer activities. How to schedule training for your child with Autism or ADHD or other developmental problems9/24/2013 Training can be done for child in a variety of schedules. Before starting treatment one should consider the schedule of the child and how to fit into your life and work schedule realistically. Parents may select to do most of the training in specific time slots during the week or on the week-end. The advantage of this schedule is that you can do many trials and this can speed up learning. However, this may be inconvenient and sometimes the child will wonder why you are repeatedly asking him to do the same thing (ex. taking on and on his shirt). A second option is to do the training during the normal daily activities. This is sometimes easier since time does not have to be set aside specifically for training. The other advantage is that the child can generalize his behavior to different environments or with different people. For example, during meals at home or at restaurants the same training techniques are used. There are many other advantages and disadvantages that should be discussed. Family should review these alternatives and sometimes combine the two methods of scheduling training and decide which is best for them and their child!
In choosing which exercises to work on first more frequently in a child with poor motor skills and aspirer or autism one should think about the functional skill deficits of the child. If a child is having difficulty using a fork or spoon then sports or leisure activities that emphasize the hands may be beneficial since you will be strengthening these muscles and movements. Exercises that stress the lower body are also beneficial but if the priority is to develop self-care skills that require more dexterity then he as the fine motor movements should be emphasized. Some leisure activities such as using an iPad may also improve fine motor skills.
Finally, one should also consider forks or spoons for example that are easier for the child with motor problems to use. Considering the selection of equipment and leisure or sports activities can be important in promotion of more rapid learning of self-care and daily living skills in children with both motor and Autism or Attention problems. |
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