Our Reward Techniques.

The Happy Face Tokens...

Whenever Liam expresses good manners, such as 'Please', 'Thank you' or 'excuse me', he receives a happy face token and when he collects 6 tokens then he can buy a car. He usually reaches his 6 tokens by the weekend. This really encourages good behavior and manners without having to remind him much.

The Ribbons...

Liam gets a ribbon every time he accomplishes something new or does something by himself. I write down his accomplishment and he gets to stick it up and when he reaches 5 ribbons (hopefully by Monday) then he gets to take it to school and share with the class.

The Stocking...

This is to encourage daily routines such as brush teeth, bath time, but it's mainly used for potty time. I made cards with pictures of the act that I want him to do and then I put it in his stocking when it's time to do something and I say, "Go check your stocking!" and he will pull out a card and then he will go do what the card says and when he comes back then I have a reward waiting for him inside the stocking, like a Hershey kiss, a sweetheart, or some little candy reward, for doing his task. This helps when he doesn't want to take orders directly from me and so I make a card up and put it in there and he will follow it without arguing.

I really try to think of new reward techniques so that he is always looking forward to his praise and rewards. He really appreciates positive reinforcement now. I used to try to give him a candy or sticker and he would freak out and have a melt-down over a reward. Now he understands and the stocking has made him look forward to surprises because he doesn't know what he will get. Surprises were hard for Liam to handle but this has helped him understand that surprises are good and are suppose to make you feel happy and excited. I just hope I can keep the ideas going so I can change it up and keep his interest because we are on a roll!