Category Archives: Academics

Individualized Token Economy Systems – Strategies for Teaching Students with ASD by Autism Partnership

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Individualized Token Economy Systems

 At Autism Partnership we have found the development and implementation of individualized token economy systems to be a powerful tool in accelerating progress for our students. Token economies have been shown to be an extremely effective contingency management system for a variety of populations. Initially, Ted Allyon used token economies to provide consequences to hospitalized mentally ill residents. The procedure proved to be extremely effective and quickly token systems were utilized with other populations exhibiting challenging behavior problems, including “delinquent” adolescents (Montrose Wolf) and mentally retarded adults (Nathrin Azrin).

Today, token economies are used to address a variety of behavioral concerns including those of children with Attention Deficit Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as typically developing children. Token economies have been so widely recognized as effective and efficient behavior management strategies to such a degree that they are routinely being employed in general education classrooms throughout the world. (Star Charts, Table Points, Marble Jar).

Tokens are symbols (e.g., points, coins, stickers, ticks or check marks, toy parts, etc), which are delivered immediately after a target response and are exchanged later for an item or activity of preference. Tokens therefore symbolize access to other preferred items or experiences, technically referred to as “generalized reinforcement”. Initially the tokens in and of themselves are not rewarding but once the student understands that tokens can be “exchanged” for preferred activities, their value is established. A daily life example of this process would be our use of money which allows us to purchase desired items or experiences. Creative systems often use motivating tokens such as pictures of favorite cartoon characters, athletes or musicians. Pictures of the target behavior can be used as the symbol as well. The tokens are clearly displayed, allowing the student to always see how many they have earned, and how many more they need to earn until reinforcement will be delivered.

This is part of a guest series by Autism Partnership founders Ron Leaf, John McEachin and Mitchell Taubmann. Established in 1994, Autism Partnership is one of the nation’s premier agencies dedicated to providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. They offer a comprehensive program and a variety of proven services, including in-home, in-classroom and one-on-one, as well as lectures and workshops. All programs are handled by expert staff and tailored to each individual child, family and caregiver, with the goal of helping that child achieve their best life. For more information, visit www.autismpartnership.com.

Pick of the Week: Reading Comprehension Practice Cards

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While most of our products cater towards early language development and social skills, do you know that we also offer educational materials for students who are developing academic skills and early reading? This week’s pick highlights our Reading Comprehension Practice Cards. These are ideal for practicing critical reading and auditory processing skills. One deck focuses on Inference and the other on Cause & Effect. Each card consists of a leveled reading passage and a multiple-choice question that asks the student to infer meaning from the text. You can always adapt it for early or non-readers by reading the passages aloud and developing auditory processing skills.

This week only, save 15% on the Inference and Cause & Effect Reading Practice Comprehension Cards by entering the Promo Code BLOGRC2 at checkout.

*Offer expires on January 24, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer. Be sure there are no spaces after the Promo Code when you enter it at checkout.

Special Needs Talk Radio has debuted!

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Coffee Klatch, a corporation dedicated to providing resources and educational programs for families with special needs children, has a new sister company called Special Needs Talk Radio which features interviews with leading experts, advocates and more in the field of Special Needs. Special Needs Talk Radio debuted on September 6 and will present six new shows hosted by twelve different moderators. This new network is aimed at providing parents with the most current news and information covering a wide range of special education topics.

The network will present six shows that will be broadcasted weekly and are currently scheduled to run through mid-October. They cover topics from Parenting Issues, Raising children with ASD, Special Education and the Law, Inclusion and more. The website also offers interactive features that allow users to be actively engaged in the content by suggesting topics, making comments, and asking questions that can be answered during the live shows.

To find the show schedule and to learn more about each program and upcoming guests, visit:

Special Needs Talk Radio

Pick of the Week: Emotions Flashcards

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Emotions Flashcards Sale You’re in luck because this week’s pick is a whole CATEGORY of products! We’re highlighting our wonderful Emotions flashcards this week and offering them to you at a 15% discount. Click here to see the full list of products on sale this week. There are basics such as the Emotions Language Cards which are an ideal introduction to teaching feelings to young learners as well as the more advanced Faces & Feelings Listening Lotto which is a creative way to work on auditory processing and emotions. With 9 different sets of Emotions Flashcards on sale this week, you’re sure to find a set that’s right for your child or student.

Today through March 1, visit Difflearn.com to save 15% on our Emotions Flashcards by entering the Promo Code BLOGEM22 at checkout.

 *Offer expires on March 1, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Not compatible with any other offer.

The Holidays Are Here?!

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The fast approaching holiday break can be stressful with therapists away, a school break and big changes in your child’s schedule making it difficult to maintain a routine.  Why not use the time to expand general knowledge and play skills?

Try to maintain the schedule as much as you can by replacing therapy or school time with activities based on one particular theme.  Take space travel and astronauts as an example and incorporate activities to address all developmental domains and have different “sessions” throughout the holiday vacation.  Depending on the length of the vacation you might choose more than one theme.

I like to start by using short videos to introduce a play schema.  This gets everyone excited about playing by becoming familiar with the specifics of the theme and making it “real”.  You can find videos on the Difflearn YouTube Channel.  Like this one showing a space shuttle lift off!

Next, you could use materials relating to the theme to work on building cognitive skills and expanding the general knowledge base about the topic needed for play.

Here are some ideas:

Parts of Whole – given a picture of an astronaut or space shuttle can the child identify parts both expressively and receptively?  This becomes important when expanding the comments used  during play.  A couple of examples include, “Don’t forget your helmet” or “I think the rocket blasters are broken, let’s fix them!”

Wh Questions – after reading short passages of a book or informational page related to the theme present various Wh Questions for the child to answer.  This improves comprehension and listening skills as well as providing more content for the space play.  You would be surprised at how well a child can do given a new and motivating topic!

Other sessions can include coloring sheets related to the theme you have chosen.  This provides an opportunity to work on task completion, graphomotor and fine motor skills.  You can find countless coloring sheets with a simple search on the internet. Like the ones found here: coloring sheets.

Additionally, you can have an arts and crafts “session” and use up some of those holiday gift boxes and gift wrap tubes to make helmets or space shuttle controls.

Last, it’s time to play!  Gather the whole family or some friends, line up chairs for the space shuttle and put on your gear.  Watch as all the information shared during your “sessions” comes alive during play!

Happy Holidays to All!

Weekly Autism Tip from Rethink Autism

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Our friends over at Rethink Autism offer a great, FREE weekly autism tip. Check out this week’s tip which focuses on going back to school.

Rethink Autism makes research-based autism treatment tools accessible and affordable for parents and professionals around the world. They have an innovative web-based platform that includes a comprehensive curriculum with over 1,200 video-based exercises, staff/parent training modules, and ongoing assessment tools – all developed by leaders in the field of autism education and research. They also offer virtual support services, ranging from short-term problem behavior assessment to ongoing case consultation with our team of experts.