Reinforcement is the most important and effective strategy in ABA. It goes hand and hand with the ABC’s of behavior, and always includes the motivational factor.

The strategy is simply to reward (called reinforce in ABA) the behavior you want them to repeat, or any effort or steps toward that behavior. Reinforcers differ for everyone because everyone is motivated by different things. Your child will also be motivated by a variety of things, and may change their mind often.

Let’s go back to the DISCRIMINATIVE STIMULUS (Sd) mentioned earlier. An Sd is anything that triggers a specific behavior (sight, sound, touch, smell).

Dog standing by the door  ⇒  Let the dog outside

Phone chimes  ⇒  Check message

Tap on the shoulder  ⇒  Turn around to look

Foul smell from baby  ⇒  Change dirty diaper

The child has learned that when he follows instructions he gets a cookie. The next time he is asked to throw something away he is more likely to do so. But this is where motivation comes in. Maybe he doesn’t want a cookie next time, but would like to play with legos. Your instruction will be, “First put this in the trash can, then you can play with legos.”

FIRST, THEN instructions are great because the child hears the expectation and what he or she is going to earn for following the instructions.

Suppose you tell your son to throw something away and he walks into the kitchen, but can’t find the trash can. You will want to praise his effort, help him find the trash can, and immediately provide reinforcement. He made the effort and took a step toward following directions. It’s important to help him be successful and reward any of his efforts to ensure he continues following your directions.