Many children with ADHD and autism also struggle with feelings of anxiety, shame, frustration, loneliness and more as they have a difficult time managing their bodies and emotions. Therefore, it’s important to provide our children with positive reinforcement.
When done correctly, instead of being afraid of punishment or being criticized, it will motivate our children, build their confidence and it will help them understand what behaviors are expected of them.
This will strength good behavior, help them feel successful and capable and it will build trust among you and your children as they’ll be open to your guidance instead of turning you out.
You can your child with ADHD and autism with positive reinforcement in the following ways.
Actionable Steps:
#1. Be Specific
Instead of merely saying, “good job,” be specific by stating exactly what your child did well.
Form example: “you did a wonderful job staying focused on this assignment for 10 minutes.”
Then encourage self-praise but asking your children how they felt about being able to focus.
#2. Focus on Effort
Task completion and precision can be incredibly difficult for a child with ADHD and autism. Instead, encourage your child’s effort instead of the outcome.
For example: “I love how hard you worked on cleaning up the toy area,” or “I noticed that you raised your hand instead of calling out the answer today. It made me so happy.”
#3. Praise in the Moment
Praise your child’s work as soon as you notice it. If you wait for too long, your child may not remember what they did, which mean that your praise will be meaningless to them as they won’t see a connection between your praise and their effort or work.
#4. Praise the Preferred
Not all children will respond to praise in the same way but it doesn’t mean that they don’t appreciate it. Adjust your methods to what works best for them. For instance, some children might prefer verbal praise, others might prefer physical praise like a thumbs up or a high-five, and some might prefer more tangible ways, like small rewards or hand-written notes.
Recap:
Let’s recap really quickly. Today, we looked at the following:
- The importance of positive reinforcement to children with ADHD and autism.
- Four ways to positive reinforcement to your child: be specific, focus on effort, praise in the moment, and praise the preferred.
Free Resources:
For a taste of the resources that were mentioned in step two, check out the following resource in my FREE Education Resource Library.
Teach your little ones how to make good choices with the following FREE Resource:
Next Steps:
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I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
Disclaimer: I’m a teacher and a parent. I’m not a medical professional, so please don’t take this as medical advice. The advice that I provide in my videos and online are strategies that I have used in my own class or at home that have worked beautifully.
