Reinforcing the Difficult Child When Token Boards Don't Work!

I use token boards in my classroom every. single. day! They are very effective for most all of my students, but there are some students that they just don't work for! Maybe the student needs a more age-appropriate reinforcer system, or throws a fit when they don't earn a token, or always rips their token board up. OR, maybe the student cannot return back to unpreferred activities after their reinforcement time is up! This was my student! 

My student always wanted to earn tokens and work for iPad, computer, or coloring, but once their time was up, they refused to come back to work. Even though a minute or two warning was given to prepare the student, getting them back was frequently a nightmare! So I had to come up with a solution where I could still reinforce the student as frequently as needed, but avoid the nightmare of the reinforcement ending.  

I knew that this student was very materialistic. They loved money and more than anything wanted to choose something from the Treasure Tree every day, but seldom earned this reward! So if you're saying, "Oh, this is so my student," then check out the system that is working for this student in my classroom! This system works especially well with ED (emotionally disturbed) or EBD (emotional behavioral disorder) students that have a hard time dealing with negative consequences. 

I took away the token board and began rewarding with play dollar bills instead.

 Students can store them in their own personal box in their desk, which makes them feel special!

 For this student, I bought them a cute, designer lock box with their own key to make it an even more powerful reinforcer for this child....as  I knew how much they loved things like this!

 They were instantly motivated to earn dollars to put in their special lock box and to unlock it with their own key! Much more motivated than they were with the tokens!

I began monitoring and having this child self-assess their behaviors at the end of each hour, much like I was already doing using my "Cool Points Charts." Only now, rather than my student earning their iPad, computer or coloring at the end of each hour this student earns a dollar bill each hour to put in their special, private lock box, and can cash them in at the end of each day for things they want. If they didn't display physical aggression during that hour, they earn a dollar bill. If they did, they do not earn their dollar. For students that cannot refrain from aggression when they do not receive their dollar bill, you may have to set up a system to where they will earn 50 cents if they refrained some of the time, and maybe a dime or a penny if they didn't refrain during the hour. This is sometimes necessary for ED or EBD students that cannot handle the negative consequence. 

They are still receiving positive reinforcement as before by receiving their dollar bill, and get to cash them in at the end of each day for things they weren't able to earn on the Treasure Tree before, but now there are no more struggles with ending hands-on reinforcers throughout the day. All students are of course going to be different, so you should adjust times, frequency, and reinforcers as needed to meet the individual needs of your student(s).  

The reinforcers they can buy at the end of the day are leveled by price. My student can earn up to $6 a day since there are six hours in our school day, so that gives them the opportunity to earn their largest reinforcer every day! I have 3 drawers where they can cash in each day; a $1 drawer (mediocre, not the coolest), a $3 drawer (cool stuff), and a $6 drawer (very cool stuff). This allows these difficult students to still feel some level of success even when they haven't had the greatest day! They are so accustomed to living in a punitive world, always being scolded for their behaviors and for not listening, so this system allows them to still feel some success; motivating them to achieve more. It is so important that these children still get to feel some level of success in their lives!!

My student expressed an interest in wanting to check items out to take home and snacks, so I also have sheet on the side that lists prices for checking out an item to take home and prices for a snack. Occasionally, I even purchase a larger, more spectacular item that costs more to them than their $6 level to motivate them even more to work extra hard and save their money over a few days to buy! 

Time is easy to manage. I use this timed timer and every hour it goes off and is turned off, it is immediately reset again. Easy!

  I like the timed timer too because it allows your challenging student to manage how much time they have left and to push themselves to achieve their goal. 

Again, each child and behavior is going to be different. There is definitely no one size fits all when it comes to behavioral programs. You will need to do some critical thinking and find the most effective method for your student(s). But if you have a challenging student that token boards are just not working for, critique my system to meet the needs of your student and give it a try!

If you need some help or suggestions, leave me a comment below and I'll do my best to offer you suggestions! Also, check out my "Cool Points" Charts, which may be another alternative to reinforce your challenging students that token boards just don't work for!! 

Using Token Boards in the Classroom

Do you use token boards in your classroom? Token boards are a fabulous, easy, and very powerful way to manage student behaviors in any classroom. With a token system, students are given some type of token each time they exhibit the appropriate behavior being targeted and then receive a reward after earning the predetermined number of tokens. 

There are many different types of token boards all over the web, but keep it simple. A token system doesn't need to be anything elaborate and does not need to cause more work for the teacher. I also recommend using small token boards like the ones in my bundle shown above. If they are small, they can remain on the student's desk. This provides a constant reminder for the student as well as keeps it from getting lost or misplaced around the room. When you get in to using larger or more bulky token boards, they can really become a nuisance. A strip of Velcro can be added on the back to store tokens not yet earned.  

There are only 3 basic things you will need to begin using a token system in your classroom. 

(1) Small countable objects. 

This can be anything from stickers, pennies, or the tokens provided in my "Token Board Bundle." The possibilities are endless, but I find that my students get excited when their tokens are fun and something that they love such as Barbie or SpongeBob. These seem to be more meaningful for them!

(2) A powerful reinforcer that is meaningful for the child. 

What does the child really like? What are they interested in? If the child is capable, let them tell you what they'd like to earn. In my classroom, students are working for things like computer, ipad, M&M's, treasure box, recess, etc. For children that cannot tell you what they love....observe them. Find what they seem to go for first during play time or what snack they seem to be the most excited about. You know your students best! Again, the possibilities are endless. I once had a student that was obsessed with drawing ceiling fans. So I used that as his reinforcer. He was only allowed to draw ceiling fans after he earned all of his tokens. Once you find that powerful reinforcer, put it away and only allow the student access to it when they have earned all of their tokens. By only allowing them access to their reinforcer contingent upon the token system, you show the power of the token system, keep their interest in the reinforcer item, and increase compliance.  

And last.....

(3) A clearly defined behavior. 

Decide what the behavior is that you want to shape. Don't try to shape too many behaviors at once. Choose one behavior! You may have a student that blurts out, doesn't stay in his seat, and also throws things. Choose one behavior at a time to target and define what the appropriate behavior will look like.

For example, if the behavior you are shaping is sitting calmly....what does sitting calmly look like? Your definition might be different than mine. Is it feet on the floor and body straight? Is it feet on the floor and hands in lap? Clearly define the desired behavior and model it for your student. This may look different for each student and may need to be broken down and taught in small steps. For example, when previously teaching calm sitting to one of my Autistic students we began with only calm hands on the table. It didn't matter at that point what the legs, feet, and body were doing as long as her hands were calm and flat on the table. Once that was mastered, we then added the expectation of feet, then body, and lastly calm sitting was defined as hands on table, feet on floor, body straight, head straight forward and eyes looking at the speaker. See how we shaped the behavior step-by-step by adding and clearly defining a new expectation as each step was mastered?

When you first begin using the token system with your student, start small. Let the student see how powerful it is by providing their reinforcement after just 1-2 tokens and then gradually increase the number of tokens needed. Be sure to provide their reinforcement immediately!!! This is important so they understand the relationship between the two.....tokens equal reward.  

So why the tokens rather than providing a reinforcer each time they exhibit the desired behavior?? Token systems allow teachers to provide a less obtrusive form of reinforcement and also delay access to the more powerful reinforcer. Here's an example of what I mean by that. Let's say a student is working on calm hands on the table and she has chosen 10 minutes of recess as her reward. Everytime you look her way she exhibits calm hands. Without the token system you may be sending her out for recess every 10-15 minutes. With the token system and by setting a predetermined number of tokens to be earned you can control and even prolong that "large" reinforcer award to make it manageable. The child is still getting positive feedback each time they demonstrate the appropriate behavior through the token and your verbal praise. 

Token systems effectively decrease behaviors because essentially the child is getting a pay-off for good behavior and then gets to cash in their pay-offs for a reward. Would you stay after school every day for after-school tutoring if you weren't getting a pay off? Even as adults we are always looking for the pay-off whether it be in the form of cash or in the form of compliment from our principal on a job well done.   

The biggest advice I have is be consistent. Clearly define what the expected behavior looks like and frequently catch the child complying. Especially in the beginning you will need to present the tokens very frequently. Here's what I mean by that. I have a student that uses a token board to teach him to stay in his seat. He was not able to stay put in his seat for more than 2 minutes. To begin, the student only had to earn two tokens. One token was given each time the student stayed in his seat for one minute. A timer is used for this. So each time the timer goes off, he earns a token. If he gets up before the timer goes off it is reset. I gradually up'd his predetermined amount of tokens and gradually increased the number of minutes set on the timer. Now he is up to earning a token for every 5 minutes and is staying in his seat for 25 minutes at a time. 

Here is a sample of the most common style token board I use in my classroom. It is also the style that is included in my bundle. I like this template as it is small and simple.  

Here is an example of two different token boards that I use with one of my non-verbal students that is not able to tell me what she wants. These are also set up for 5 tokens. The other blank squares are for adding more reinforcement choices as we identify them through our observations. Since this child carries her token board around to other stations, I placed a strip of Velcro on the back of the board to store the tokens she has not earned yet. 

Token boards are so effective in my classroom that I also use a group token system in my classroom. Since I'm out for summer break I can't get a real picture of this, but this is what it looks like. Mine has a student photo for each child, but you could also use only names. I also have two taped together to accommodate my 13 students. Only 4 students in my room are on an individual token system, but everyone in my class is a part of the group token system. I award students tokens on the group token board for many reasons, but some things include coming right in and following directions, lining up perfectly, showing a kind gesture to a classmate, remembering to bring a paper back, and so on. 

This is what it looks like as tokens are earned. For the group board I use all of the same design on my tokens and keep a container full of them by the token board. This token board hangs on the wall in my classroom. 

If you want to get started using token boards in your classroom, my bundle may be a great place to start. You can check it out {here}. The token boards in the bundle are also available individually if you have just one student in mind. They are not listed in my store, so you'd need to let me know. I'm also happy to custom make token boards.    

Token boards may seem too simple to be effective! Truth is....they are simple and they are effective. Just remember....define the (one) behavior, have powerful reinforcers available, and be consistent. 

SEUSS MASKS, CURRENTLY, GIVEAWAY, & TOKEN BOARD FREEBIE

First off.....I am sooooo excited and proud to announce that I was chosen as the featured post on TBA's Friday Freebie yesterday! Yes, that's right! My blog......how sweet is that! Thrilled and honored. Go{HERE} to check out my featured post and grab some freebies! 
                
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS! What did your class do for Seuss' birthday? I was out of my class Mon.-Thurs. this week for an Autism training, so I didn't have time to put much together for my kiddos, but we did make these adorable Seuss masks!

They turned out so cute! This idea came from Amanda at Crafts and Things for Children. Thanks Amanda! She has some fabulous Seuss ideas. 

  What is your favorite Dr. Seuss quote???
Now for Farley's Currently at "Oh Boy Fourth Grade." 

Listening watching to the movie "Taken." Trying not to get involved in it, so I can finish this post. Have you seen "Taken 2?" I saw it a couple of weeks ago and it is really good too. I'm betting from the ending that there's going to be a part 3!
Loving that TBA picked MY post to feature on "FRIDAY FREEBIE" yesterday. What an honor! :)
Thinking about all the fabulous things I learned at my 4-day Autism training this week! So much to take in- in four days, and so many things I want to implement and change in my classroom now. Excited, but have alot of work ahead of me! Just wish my room was bigger.....and I had more space to work with! 
Wanting some warmer weather. Hello......it's March now, where's the warm weather at???? 
Needing a permanent aide in my classroom. I have one aide who has been with me since I've been in my classroom, but my other aide position is being filled with a sub because we can't find any candidates to fill it.....and now the district has frozen hiring for this school year! Uggghhh! So hard in a classroom with disabilities like mine to have substitutes that don't understand the disabilities in my room, nor have the passion or patience for working with my kids! Frustrating!
And the LIKE, LOVE, HATE......well I think that speaks for itself and I'm sure the testing is something we can all relate to!!
And now for a giveaway from "Flying High in First Grade." She's giving away one item from her TPT store on Monday and it's so easy to enter.......just leave her a comment about your best b-day memory! It's her birthday!!! How easy it that?? I like easy giveaways!!
Stay tuned tomorrow for my weekly "Bloomin' Blogger Sundays" post! Tomorrow I'll be showing you how to add the Facebook "like" pop up window that appears when a new visitor visits your page. I went from 4 likes to 20 likes in just two days after adding this to my blog!! 
And to close with a Freebie for the special educators out there.....a "Clean/Dirty Face" token board. I have a Downs Syndrome student that has not learned how to clean her face after eating, and not to mention she is a MESSY eater! She will come in from breakfast every morning with half of her face covered in food and cinnamon roll icing! To work on this goal, I made a "Clean/Dirty Face" token board that I will use with her daily. Laminate and use velcro to attach the tokens to the board. 

 Go {here} to get this token board. If you would like more information on how I will use this token board with this student, just  let me know!
Oh, and one last thing..........I'm only 12 away from 100 followers!!! Let me know if you'd be interested in contributing to my giveaway! I only have 3 volunteers so far!