Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Tips & Warnings:
- Make the steps tiny. Each dish out of the dishwasher. Each towel folded. Each piece of trash thrown away.
- Smaller items in the series are earned in groups. For instance, 1 minute for every 3 utensils.
- Larger items earn more minutes, such as a folded blanket earns 3 minutes. You can even group many small items this way, such as 3 minutes for all of the forks. Another 3 minutes for all of the spoons.
- Make a BIG deal out of tallying up the steps. The child will take pride in their accomplishment. When s/he sees that tallying up their work takes an effort on your part, they feel even more accomplished. Then they'll be happy to return for more!
- Don't be stingy with awarding minutes. If it's too hard to earn time, the motivation is decreased.
- Don't be inflexible-- If your child prefers TV time to general "break time", then award a minute of screen time. Computer time. Wii time.
Step1
If the task involves several of the same item, stack it neatly to keep your kid from feeling scattered.
Determine the specific thing which needs to be done. For instance, a summer school assignment. Determine how the task can be broken down into tiny measurable steps. For instance, schoolwork can be broken down into each question to be answered.
Step2
Digital, multi-function timer with clear display to count down the ten minutes.
Set the digital timer for ten minutes. Explain to the child that each measurable portion of the task will earn minutes.
Step3
After ten minutes, award a minute for every tiny step accomplished. For instance, if 15 questions are answered, the child earns 15 minutes. This is the length of break that the child takes as a reward.
Step4
After the earned break is up, to the minute, the child returns to continue the task. The timer is set for another 10 minutes and the process is repeated.
The reason this is effective is because the child's goal is earning as long of a break as possible. He knows that to do this, s/he must work diligently to complete a high number of steps or parts. When the break is awarded, the child is happy to return, because in order to get more break time, they know they can simply complete more work. This is why this works for the child for autism, more effectively than negative consequences or completing a task for a more abstract benefit.
If the task involves several of the same item, stack it neatly to keep your kid from feeling scattered.
Determine the specific thing which needs to be done. For instance, a summer school assignment. Determine how the task can be broken down into tiny measurable steps. For instance, schoolwork can be broken down into each question to be answered.
Digital, multi-function timer with clear display to count down the ten minutes.
Set the digital timer for ten minutes. Explain to the child that each measurable portion of the task will earn minutes.
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Comments
Lorin-Neikirk said
on 2/5/2008 Thank you, TheHairDresser! Hey... If we all stick together we can get a lot more accomplished, right?! Lol! Thank you for the sweet comment! -Lorin Neikirk