1. Using Praise and Positive Reinforcement Effectively To Change Behavior at School and at Home

2. Please Note POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS THE MOST POWERFUL METHOD FOR CHANGING OR DEVELOPING A DESIRED BEHAVIOR!!

3. Unfortunately Attention is usually given to bad behavior and good behavior goes virtually unnoticed at home, at school and at work. Many people know about reinforcement; however, it is a tool that is not used as often as it should be facilitate desired behavior.

4. Please Note: The mastery of positive reinforcement with a child will result in dramatic improvements in behavior.

5. The Key The key is knowing how to use positive reinforcement and then actually using positive reinforcement.

6. Examples The following suggestions on how to help a child with behavior problems is taken from Parent Management Training by Alan F. Kazdin, Director and Chair of the Child Study Center at the Yale University School of Medicine and Director of the Yale parenting Center and Child Conduct clinic.

7. How and When to Deliver Positive Reinforcement BE CLOSE TO THE CHILD TO ENSURE THAT: The behavior you are praising is actually taking place. When you are close to the child, he/she is more likely to pay attention to what you are saying.

8. Voice Use a sincere, enthusiastic tone of voice. You don’t need to be loud but make sure you sound thrilled about what you are saying. Great Job!

9. Use Nonverbal Reinforcers Show your child/student your are pleased by: Smiling Winking Touching (appropriately) Hugging High Five Thumbs Up Pat on the back

10. Be Specific When praising a child, tell the child specifically what you are praising him or her for: Wow! Thank you for finishing your math and putting it in the basket. Good Job! Thank you for picking up your shoes and putting them in the closet.

11. Please Note. Just as positive opposites make a positive behavior more likely, So do prompts.

12. What is a prompt? A prompt is a cue or direction we give to get someone to do a behavior, in this case.

13. To Be Effective Be Specific. Tell your child specifically what you want. Don’t Say: “Pick up your toys” Do Say: “Please pick up your toys and put them in the toy box.”

14. To Be Effective Be Specific. Tell your child specifically what you want. Don’t Say: “Be good.” or “Don’t fool around.” Do Say: “When you’re on the school bus, remember to keep your hands to yourself and stay in your seat.”

15. To Be Effective Be calm. Maintain a positive or neutral tone in your voice while you give prompts to the child. Don’t Say: “Put your dish in the sink!” Do Say: “Please put your dish in the sink when you are done.”

16. To Be Effective Be close. Get close to the child when you are talking and make eye contact. Don’t Say: “Mary, go tell your brother to hurry up with his shoes.” Do Say: “Mark, please put your shoes on in the next minute or so, so I can help you with your coat.”

17. Effective Discipline Guidelines Effective discipline really begins with rewarding and praising positive behavior. When faced with a problem behavior, mild punishment techniques can be effective, but only when they are paired with positive reinforcement for the positive opposite of the problem behavior.

18. Effective Discipline Guidelines Remain Calm

19. Effective Discipline Guidelines If you need to take a privilege away, do so for a short period of time. Such privileges include TV or phone privileges for an afternoon or an evening. How immediate and consistent the punishment is usually is more important than how big the loss is or how upset your child becomes.

20. Effective Discipline Guidelines Praise and reinforce the child’s behaviors (positive opposites) Temper tantrums versus handling a problem Teasing others versus playing cooperatively with others Talking back versus using your words calmly and respectfully Physical aggression versus keeping one’s hands and feet to oneself

21. Want to Change Behavior? If YES…. Focus on the positive opposite. The positive opposite is the to increasing positive behavior. Every problem behavior has a positive opposite. Fit thrown for not getting own way.Raising hand to ask question About why a decision was made

22. Please Note A child is more likely to do the positive behavior if given the positive opposite Than If punished.

23. LOOK PROMPT FOR A BEHAVIOR NO MORE THAN 2 TIMES THREE PROMPTS FOR THE SAME BEHAVIOR IS NAGGING.

24. Remember POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS MORE BENEFICIAL IN CHANGING BEHAVIOR THAN IS PUNISHMENT. BE POSITIVE. BE SPECIFIC BE SINCERE. BE SUCCESSFUL!!