Token Economy for Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Case Study Example

Token Economy for ADHD students Name Institution Date Token Economy for ADHD students Introduction Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder usually affects children and some adults and it makes it difficult for them to concentrate. The children aged between 11 and 17 years usually face difficulties in terms of managing their concentration. The disorder impacts negatively on the school going children as their concentration are usually lowered in class. The management of the disorder therefore requires the teachers and the parents to use the concepts of token economy to ensure that the desired behaviors are achieved (Laracy, 2014). Token economy involves a reward system that enables the children to be rewarded for appropriate conduct. The appropriate conduct is usually derived from a list of behaviors that the teachers or parents would like the children to portray. Token economy is therefore useful for the children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as it promotes learning. The paper thus developers a token of economy for the purpose of use for children with the disorder. Token Economy for Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder The target population for the children with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder will involve children between the ages of 8 and 11. The children that are targeted have difficulties in terms of concentrating in class due to the disorder. This will include both boys and girls who have the disorder. On the other hand, it is also important to note that all the children who will be involved are known to have the disorder and it has been proved by experts. This is considering that there are usually difficulties in terms of determining whether children are suffering font e disorder or not. Al the children will be involved of the purpose of the program and its benefits. This is for the purpose of ensuring that they are prepared psychologically for the process. A total of 15 pupils will be involved in the program. The parents will also be informed of the program for the purpose of ensuring that the program receives full support. Other stakeholders including the teachers will also be informed of the program and hence ensuring that it is fully supported. The program will not discriminate any of the participants during the process due to the sensitive nature of their problems. The required behaviors will play an important role in guiding the token economy. The learners will be fully informed of the desired behaviors and the rewards that they will receive incase they abide by the required behaviors. The children will be required to raise up their hands before taking or answering any question. Speaking out will not be allowed and it will be against the expected behavior. The learners will also be required to be seated and ready for the lesson when the bell rings at the start of the lesson. The students will also be required to come to class with their calculator during each lesson. Cooperation, respect and participation will also be required of the students during each lesson. In terms of personal hygiene, the students will be required to put on clean clothes and ensure that they brush their teeth. This will be beneficial to the students in terms of ensuring that high levels of hygiene are maintained. The students will also be required to take care of their needs before their wants. This means that any loss of school supplies must be replaced immediately. Strict monitoring of the desired behaviors will be carried out before the students earn any point. Table showing the desired behaviors and points Desired behaviors Points Raising up of hands before taking or answering any question 1 Being seated when the bell rings before the start of the lesson 1 Carrying calculators to class 1 Putting on clean clothes 1 Cooperation, respect and participation 1 Taking care of needs before wants 1 The accumulated points can be used for the purpose of buying special snacks, supervised computer lessons at lunch time, iTunes gift cards and more time for speaking with the parents on the phone. Each of the desired behaviors is one point. This is for the purpose of ensuring that the students do not pick which rules to obey and which ones not to obey. The manipulation of the system usually takes place when each of the behaviors is allocated different points. The students will be monitored depending on how they spend their points. This is for the purposes of ensuring that the students do not spend their points on one item alone like snacks. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the students will be prohibited from sharing, transferring or trading on their points among themselves. A token sheet will be prepared for the purposes of ensuring that the performance of each of the student is assessed. This will be useful in providing a feedback and hence understanding the progress of the student. Positive reinforcements will also be encouraged for the purposes of ensuring that the students are motivated. Punishments will not be used but positive reinforcements will instead be promoted. This is because punishments impacts negatively on the motivation of the students with the disorder (Haack, 2014). Reinforcers will also be put in place for the purposes of enabling the students to exchange their tokens with the reinforcers. The reinforcers will be inexpensive and it only require little time although it will mainly be used for the purpose of motivating the students. Special privileges which include being the first in the line during meals will form part of the reinforcers. The students can also exchange their free time on the computer for the purpose of carrying out different activities including playing computer games. Running an office errand will also form an important form of a reinforcer and the students will be allowed to exchange their tokens with it. It is also important to note that the activities that each of the students likes to perform during their free time will be determined. This will form an important part of the reinforcers and hence motivating the students to abide by the rules and portray positive behaviors. The pricing of the tokens is also important for the purposes of ensuring that a fair value is achieved. 5 tokens will cost 1 cent of value since each student has the potential of earning about 100 tokens each day depending on their efforts. The pricing is neither too low nor too high for the students. This is considering that the students may end up accumulating more reinforcers easily (Eiraldi, 2012). On the other hand, it may be frustrating to the students if the pricing is too high. A classroom bank will be put in place for the purposes of keeping track of the points earned by the students. A list containing the names of each student and the points that they have accumulated will be developed. The list will be pinned on the notice board of the classroom for the purpose of enabling each student to know their points. This will play an important role in enabling the students to compete in order to obtain more tokens. Washable markers will be used for the purpose of writing the points. This is because the points will have to be updates on a daily basis. A back-up copy of the list will always be kept since some students with low points may tend to destroy the list on the notice board. The students will be allowed to exchange for their tokens on a daily and weekly basis. This will always take place before lunch time. The parents will also be provided with fill information with regards to how the token economy will work. This will include the reinforcers and the rewards for the students together with the pricings. This is because the present will always want to know how the token economy is working and convenient it is for their children (Eiraldi, 2012). The behavior that resulted to the awarding of the tokens will also be announced to the student. All the students will be praised for earning the tokens during the process of awarding them. The tokens will be delivered to the students on a continuous basis. This is for the purposes of ensuring that any new behavior is also reflected in the process and hence benefiting the students. Once the students have mastered specific behaviors, the tokens will be diminished. However, the students will still be praised for maintain the desired behaviors. Adjustments to the prices will also be made from time to time for the purpose of maintain the interest of the students. This will also play an important role in terms of ensuring that the students are motivated. The reinforcers will also be changed from time to time for the purpose of ensuring that the students are able to work hard towards achieving what the students want. It is also important to note that the changes will be carried out depending on the performance of the students. This is because the main aim of using the token economy is to ensure that the students with the disorder are able to maintain the desired behaviors. The token economies will also be adjusted for the purpose of ensuring that the students are able to master complex behaviors on a step by step basis. The legal rights of the students will also be upheld and the basic needs like food and water will not be used as reinforcers for exchanging the tokens. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the program will play an important role in enabling the students with the disorder to improve on their learning process. The token economy plays an important role in ensuring that the learners are able to participate actively in the lessons. The pricing of the tokens is also useful in ensuring that the students are able to achieve the desired outcomes of the program. It is also evident that the process will require the support of the teachers. References Laracy, S. D. (2014). School-Based Interventions for Elementary School Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Haack, L. M. (2014). Behavior Management for School-Aged Children with Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Eiraldi, R. (2012). Strategies for implementing evidence-based psychosocial interventions for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America, 21(1), 145. Read More