Several factors help to motivate autistic children: reinforcement, stimulus,
and task variation. R.L. Koegel, O'Dell, and Dunlap (1988) found that when
attempts to communicate are reinforced, verbal responding improves. This is in
contrast to the more traditional techniques in which reinforcement was only
given if verbalizations were correct or nearly correct on successive occasions.
Another powerful motivator is stimulus. Motivation is greatly increased if the
stimulus items are highly desirable and chosen by the child and not by the
clinician or parent. Additionally, varying the tasks motivates autistic children
to respond (Dunlap & Koegel, 1980). If the teacher presents new tasks along
with those tasks previously mastered, then the child learns the target behaviors
faster (Dunlap, 1984; L.K. Koegel & Koegel, 1986). Combined, these factors
(reinforcement, stimulus, and task variation) resulted in improved levels of
appropriate responding (R.L. Koegel, O'Dell, & Koegel, 1987) and
significantly reduced the levels of disruptive or avoidance behaviors (R.L.
Koegel, Koegel, & Surratt, Schriebman, 1988).
http://www.healing-arts.org/children/educational.htm#motivate
No comments:
Post a Comment