Reinforcement.
Reinforcement seems like a pretty obvious thing, right? Well, reinforcement is a huge part of teaching children, regardless of ability. Reinforcement is more than just throwing Skittles at the problem... it is a fairly complex and dynamic facet of learning. A technical definition of reinforcement may read, " the presentation of a stimulus following a response that increases a behavior." In non-clinical terms, its something that makes a behavior happen more. There is positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Reading Positive Versus Negative Reinforcement will be a good primer to this.
Let's talk about different types of reinforcement.
Let's talk about different types of reinforcement.
Continuous (Immediate)
Continuous, or immediate, reinforcement is, as its name suggests, continuous and immediate. Meaning, after a behavior occurs, the reinforcement always comes right after. For instance, every time you eat ice cream (assuming you like ice cream) you are immediately reinforced by the yummy taste, and it is continuous. Each time you eat ice cream, you get a similar reinforcement. Each time you get this reinforcement, it makes you more likely to eat ice cream again.
Variable
Variable reinforcement is, you guessed it, on a "variable schedule". Every third day you make your bed, you get a sticker, quarter, etc. Every 5 times you have a toileting success, you get an Oreo. That type of thing.
Primary Reinforcers
Primary reinforcers are things that are innately reinforcing... Meaning a child doesn't have to learn that the thing they earn is good. Primary reinforcers are different for every child. For one child, it may be treats; skittles, cheetos, Oreos, etc. For another child it may be Thomas the train, and yet for another it may be sensory play. The key is that it is something the child already wants.
Secondary Reinforcers
Secondary reinforcers are reinforcers that have been made to be a positive experience, usually through conditioning. Take for instance earning stickers to trade that can be used to trade for a desired object, like a cookie. The sticker itself, in this case, is not reinforcing. The sticker is reinforcing because it can be traded for something with intrinsic value (a primary reinforcer).
Token Economies
Token economies are highly used in ABA therapy. A token economy, which may be called "schedule of reinforcement", is a way of fading out reinforcement using continuously increasing secondary reinforcers. Stay with me here... If you start out trading a "token" (sticker or some other type marker) for a reinforcer. After a determined amount of time, you have to earn 2 "tokens" for one treat, then 5 tokens for a treat, and so on and so forth.
Differential Reinforcement
There are many different kinds of differential reinforcement. Please see the reading Differential Reinforcement.