You’re at the mall trying to buy a pair of shoes for yourself when your child with autism flies into a rage and has a temper tantrum in the middle of the mall; to regain control of the situation, you offer to buy them candy once you’ve purchased your shoes.
If this sounds familiar, you’re certainly not alone. For parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this type of scenario can happen regularly. Maladaptive and harmful behaviors, such as temper tantrums, throwing objects, or loud outbursts, are often how children on the spectrum express their feelings, primarily if they are nonverbal or have low-functioning autism.
However, there are ways to change and improve this type of aggressive behavior, and it doesn’t involve bribery, rewards, or punishment.
At Heartlinks, we utilize positive and negative reinforcement as key principles in our ABA therapy approach. So whether you’re coming to terms with your child’s autism diagnosis or you’re looking for types of parent training for yourself, we can help.
Keep reading to discover how positive and negative reinforcement in ABA therapy can transform challenging behaviors, promote healthier alternatives, and empower you, your child, and the rest of the family!
What Is Reinforcement?
Reinforcement encourages and strengthens good behavior, often delivered as a tangible object or event following the desired action. It is also a central theme of applied behavior analysis, or ABA therapy, which is considered the gold standard for autism treatment. American psychologist B.F. Skinner, the grandfather of ABA therapy, developed the theory that behavior can be taught by controlling its consequences. By understanding the four functions of behavior—escape, attention, access to tangibles, and sensory stimulation—ABA therapists use reinforcement to address why a behavior occurs and teach positive alternatives.
The principle of reinforcement states that behaviors followed by pleasant consequences are more likely to be repeated, tapping into our natural human inclinations toward rewards. Whether reinforcing a behavior to gain attention, access to an item, or avoid something unpleasant, reinforcement is a powerful tool for fostering meaningful learning and positive behavior change.
ABA therapy employs various techniques to teach and apply reinforcement effectively, including:
- Modeling: Demonstrating the behavior-reinforcement connection
- Shaping: Gradually reinforcing the steps toward the target behavior
- Discrete Trial Training: Structuring reinforcement in a clear and repetitive way
- Error Correction: Reinforcing correct responses while guiding improvements
- Discriminative Stimulus: Explaining reinforcement through relatable scenarios
- Prompt Hierarchy: Reinforcing correct responses while gradually fading prompts
- Token Economy: Using tokens (i.e., stickers or coins) as motivators to reinforce behaviors
- Errorless Learning: Reinforcing correct responses to prevent errors and frustration.
- Social Stories: Explaining behaviors using books or pictures and their positive outcomes.
- Naturalistic Therapy: Reinforcing behaviors in natural, meaningful contexts like classrooms, playgrounds, or at home.
- Tacting: Teaching children on the spectrum to label their environment, linking correct responses to positive outcomes.
These strategies ensure reinforcement is delivered effectively, creating opportunities for learning, communication, and lasting behavior change.
What Are The Primary Types of Reinforcement ABA?
The two most well-known types of reinforcement are positive and negative, both of which play a crucial role in shaping behavior and teaching new skills in ABA therapy.
Positive Reinforcement
Also known as positive reinforcement ABA, this method involves adding a desirable response after the expected behavior occurs. Positive reinforcement is the most widely applied principle of behavior training, and its applications are endless. This versatility makes it a tremendously valuable intervention tool. Depending on your child’s preference assessments, it can take various forms, including tokens, tangible terms, verbal praise, social reinforcement, and preferred activities.
For example, if your child on the spectrum has strong food aversions and refuses to eat vegetables, the therapist may begin by reinforcing small, achievable steps. First, the child is praised or rewarded for simply touching or looking at the food. Once comfortable, they’re reinforced for smelling, then licking, and eventually taking a small bite of the vegetable. Reinforcement, such as verbal praise, “well done,” or “great job.” is provided immediately after each successful step. The therapist could also use social reinforcement, such as allowing the children to play with other kids in the neighborhood. This approach reinforces desired behavior while allowing your child to flex their social skill muscles, which is particularly important for an autistic teen.
By breaking the process into manageable stages and pairing positive reinforcement with each success, the autistic child learns to tolerate and enjoy the food, ideally reducing the aversion over time.
Another example of positive reinforcement is when an autistic child exhibits chronic repetitive body movements, such as scratching or spinning. For example, suppose an autistic child scratches due to a sensory processing disorder or as a self-soothing technique. In that case, the therapist might teach an alternative behavior, such as squeezing a stress ball or taking deep breaths. When the child chooses the stress ball rather than scratching, the therapist immediately provides positive reinforcement or rewards them, such as allowing the child extra time to play their favorite video game. By consistently reinforcing the replacement behavior, the child learns that healthier alternatives to scratching can lead to positive outcomes, gradually reducing that behavior over time.
Not only does positive reinforcement motivate children with autism to engage in desired behaviors, but it can steadily build their confidence and self-esteem by fostering a belief in their abilities and a positive self-image.
Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is often misunderstood as punishment, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Negative reinforcement in ABA involves removing an undesirable stimulus to reinforce a desired behavior. Removing the aversive stimulus motivates the individual to continue performing the desired behavior.
For example, if an autistic child and their family are working on ABA therapy techniques at home when the issue of homework arises, they may experience frustration. To encourage focus, the therapist or parent might say, “Once you finish two more problems, you can take a short break.” Removing the undesirable task of continuous work after completing a portion motivates the child to engage in the desired behavior of completing the homework. This is a tremendous in-home ABA therapy technique for parents to master and apply effectively.
Similarly, in occupational therapy, an autistic child working on fine motor skills may dislike the exercise for tying his shoes. The therapist might say, “If you tie your shoes on one more time, we’ll move on to something more enjoyable, like getting some physical exercise.” After partial success, the child learns to persevere and complete the desired behavior by removing the less preferred task.
While negative reinforcement can be effective in the short term, it may not promote motivation or create a genuine desire to engage in a particular behavior. It’s critical to consider the potential drawbacks, such as extinction bursts and temporary increases in the undesired behavior when reinforcement is initially removed from relying too heavily on negative reinforcement to drive behavior change.
Let Heartlinks Help!
At Heartlinks, we understand that navigating challenging behaviors associated with autism can feel overwhelming at times, but armed with the right strategies, meaningful progress can be achieved. Using positive and negative reinforcement, key components of ABA therapy, we help children on the spectrum develop positive behaviors, learn new skills, and replace less desirable behaviors with healthier ones.
Whether you’re working on specific behaviors involving emotional regulation, sleep struggles, anxiety, or even depression, reinforcement techniques, such as modeling and shaping, can empower your child to succeed in manageable ways.
Thanks to our range of ABA services, Heartlinks can support you and your family with evidence-based ABA strategies that can foster long-term behavior change.