When to Use Rewards to Improve Behaviors in Autistic Children

Behavioral therapists (and most parents, teachers, and bosses) use rewards to encourage particular behaviors. If you want a child to take a shower every night, you might offer them a later bedtime as an encouragement. If you want a student to study harder, you might offer a special trip to the beach as an incentive. If you want an employee to turn up on time, you might offer a bonus for punctuality.

Applied Behavioral Therapy, sometimes called ABA, uses rewards (sometimes called "reinforcements") as a tool for building skills in autistic children and some adults. This approach can be very effective and often is considered a gold standard of autism therapy. However, some autism advocates oppose ABA for what is, in their view, placing the priority on "fixing" autistic people rather than accepting neurodivergence and strengthening each person's unique abilities.

Rewards and Token Economies

The simplest approach to reward-based teaching is to hand over a prize each time a child does what they're asked to do. As a child develops more advanced skills, however, they may wind up earning tokens such as gold stars for good work. Earn enough gold stars (or stickers or stamps), and you win a prize (a special privilege or an actual object). Earning and spending tokens rather than money is sometimes referred to as a "token economy."

Token economies are very commonly used to encourage desired behaviors among autistic children. Each time a child completes a desired behavior (making eye contact, sitting still, asking or answering a question, etc.), they earn a token. Younger children (or children with developmental delays) may need to earn just a few tokens to earn a quick reward, while older children or teens may have enough patience and long-term awareness to work for many tokens over the course of days or weeks.

The choice of reward, of course, varies from person to person. While some autistic children value toys or snacks, others value time with a favorite activity or TV show. Still others work hard for praise, hugs, and high fives.

How Effective Are Rewards and Token Economies?

As anyone knows who has earned a prize for a job well done, rewards can be effective motivators. Similarly, anyone who has shopped at the same store to earn loyalty points knows that token economies can be motivational. But for autistic children, there are pros and cons to using a reward system.

When Rewards and Token Economies Work

Rewards and token economies are often used when teaching a new skill or behavior. Autistic children generally prefer consistency and are often resistant to doing something new. A desired reward can help children overcome their anxiety by helping them to focus on the outcome rather than the process.

Token economies are especially helpful when helping a child to develop a new routine or reach a long-term goal. For example, many autistic children with low support needs have a hard time controlling the desire to "blurt out" in class. To help manage the behavior, a therapist or teacher might institute a token reward system. Each time the child makes it through a day without blurting, they receive a token.

By going through this process daily, they establish a pattern or habit of good behavior. After a period of time, they earn enough tokens for a desired object or outcome (a toy, treat, or experience). Of course, it's important that the goal is both achievable and challenging, and that the time between starting and finishing is not unreasonably long.

When Rewards and Token Economies Create Problems

When a child is accustomed to working for a reward, it can be very difficult to "fade" the reward and expect the behavior to continue. Autistic children like consistency, and when they've received the same prize for the same behavior over a period of time, it can be very upsetting to have that prize taken away.

It can also be difficult to "generalize" a new skill taught through the use of a token economy. For example, imagine a child who has earned tokens for raising their hand in school. Now they are in Sunday school, where no tokens are offered. While a neurotypical child might see that "school is school," and continue to raise their hand, or look around to see what other children are doing, autistic children are unlikely to do either. In order to encourage hand raising in this new setting, it would be necessary to continue the token economy in Sunday School as well.

Finally, for some children, rewards become far more important than the desired behavior. A child who spends the day waiting to win their toy may behave appropriately but find it very difficult to focus on lessons or conversations, because they are so concerned with winning the prize. This means that, while the behavior may be in place, learning is not possible.

Clearly, token economies have a place in teaching and encouraging some new behaviors. The key is to plan ahead for the process of generalizing and fading rewards over time.