Behaviour Behaviour Support Support Services Services
Pairing with Reinforcers Resource Package NOTE: This package consists of strategies which may or may not assist in responding to behaviour. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice or treatment from a qualified behaviour clinician.
Pairing with Reinforcers • Pairing with reinforcers is a key component at the beginning of any relationship with an individual you support • A reinforcer is anything a person enjoys (e.g., praise, high fives, candy, preferred toys, etc.) that when provided following a behaviour, it makes that behaviour more likely to occur again in the future • Pairing can be described as “bridging” yourself with positive interactions and preferred items, as staff are conditioning themselves as a potential reinforcer • Pairing can be done with other already preferred people, objects, the environment/places • This can help establish the future relationship between an individual and their support staff • Pairing can also build trust, better rapport and instructional control when later asking an individual to do something (e.g., practice a new skill)
Basic idea of pairing • The individual you support will be much more motivated if they are having fun! As a support staff, you must become fun for the individual • We use pairing to help the individual get used to their support staff and look forward to future time spent together • The support staff, in time, becomes as powerful and preferred as the original reinforcer itself! • Once effective pairing occurs, everything associated with the support staff (especially learning itself) will become fun • Pairing needs to happen every day as new activities, people and materials are introduced
ACTIVITY EDIBLE
SOCIAL
TANGIBLE SENSORY
What is happening during the pairing process? • The support staff is using this time to investigate possible likes/dislikes, potential reinforcers or motivators of the individual • Support staff are also giving verbal and social praise for to the individual for allowing them to spend time with them and their favourite things • Support staff are slowly becoming as powerful as their favourite things
Adapted from: Barbera & Rasmussen (2007). The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach children with Autism and Related Disorders.
How to Pair with Reinforcers • Upon first meeting the individual you are to support, you can basically interact, hang out and/or “play”, while getting to know him/her better • Allow them to lead this time and learn how much interaction he/she tolerates • Try not to place demands during this time • Try to stay at least within their space, respecting personal comfort levels • Be as energetic and engaging as possible! • For more vocal individuals, simply ask what he/she likes. Focus the conversation on these learning more about these interests. Incorporate these interests in your time together • For less vocal individuals, watch what the individual reaches for, favors and enjoys interacting with. Test objects by offering a few objects at the same time and observing what the individual looks at, reaches for and selects HOW pairing works • Every time you interact again with this individual, introduce these reinforcing items that you know they like/are motivated by… • Remember, anyone is more likely to complete a non-preferred task, if they are getting something preferred immediately after • Also, anyone is more likely to talk to, tolerate more difficult tasks and cooperate when interacting includes the things that they like
Important: Continue pairing and building rapport with the individual. Building rapport never truly ends! It is part of your job to investigate what the individual you support likes - their preferred items/activities, motivators and find ways every day to incorporate these things into everyday routine. A support staff’s demands should be so subtle that the individual they support is unaware when pairing has stopped and demands have begun. Adapted from: Barbera & Rasmussen (2007). The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach children with Autism and Related Disorders.
WHY pairing works • When you see challenging behaviour, demands are typically too high and reinforcement is too low! • It is sometimes hard for individuals with social or communication deficits to be socially motivated (i.e., talk to, listen, follow instructions, reciprocate conversations with others) • Some individuals we support may have experienced abuse or trauma in the past and might find it hard to build rapport and actual trust with their support staff • Individuals may have had many different support staff assisting them in one day, let alone many more over the years • Over time, support staff and the daily requests they make might become less reinforcing or even aversive
However… in addition to taking the time to simply interact/hang out/”play” with an individual you support, the following naturally occurs: 1. Trust is established: the individual you support will (over time) learn to share and give back reinforcers, but in order for them to feel safe giving things up, they must believe he/she will get the reinforcer back 2. Association for Reinforcement: • In order to solidify the individual’s view of their support staff as FUN and REINFORCING, the support staff must become a bridge between the individual and their reinforcers • During interactions, any of the individual’s reinforcers can be slightly out of reach. This way they must interact with/request/go through the support staff to get said reinforcers, prompting use of functional communication • In the beginning, try to anticipate the individual’s wants and provide for them proactively • Once the support worker starts discovering what items are particularly reinforcing, start to encourage the individual you support to functionally request these things Adapted from: Barbera & Rasmussen (2007). The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach children with Autism and Related Disorders.