Token System

Let me just preface this post with the following.  I'm about to share some really detailed, specific information.  This is not for everyone.  I definitely don't think everyone needs or wants this.  But for some of you it might be really, really helpful.  I have found it so.  That's why I'm sharing it.

My son is on the high functioning end of the Autism Spectrum, has severe ADHD, and has learning disabilities.  His twin sister has pretty severe ADHD and learning disabilities.  Parenting and teaching these kids is not easy.  Let's be honest, parenting and teaching any child is not easy.  Period.  Several of my kids therapists have recommended a token system to help things go better.  My family has really benefited from using a token system.  It is a scientific, research-based method for helping kids gain skills and change their behavior.

I am not a professional. I'm probably making all kinds of mistakes.  Even so, this is really working for us. I am going to share how my family uses a Token System in hopes that maybe someone else could benefit from it too.

Ultimately a token system is pretty simple. You need 3 things.

1. A list of behaviors you want to see from your kids. When they do these things, they earn tokens.
2. A list of privileges and stuff kids can spend their tokens on.
3.  Tokens. Some students, especially older students will benefit from a virtual points system and don't require physical tokens but younger students and especially those with neuro-atypical brains will do best using concrete, physical tokens.


List of Desired Behaviors
Here's my list.  Yours will be different.

• Take a shower
• Comb or refresh your hair
• Lotion your arms and legs
• Wipe clean the bathroom toilet and floor
• Clean the bathroom mirror, sink, and counter
• Clean your bedroom
• Take your supplements 
• Take your medication
• Go around the house and pick up all your stuff
• Help make breakfast
• Sit at the table for the entire meal
• Keep your hands and feet to yourself for the entire meal
• Come to school time when called, without any toys
• Do a meditation
• Write a school plan for the day
• Complete your school plan for the day
• Practice violin or viola
• Practice dance
• Help make lunch
• Do a chore
• Get pajamas on
• Brush your teeth
• Participate in SSR

All these things earn tokens for my twins at our house. But they don't get tokens for all the same things. Sitting still at meals is hard for one of them. That child earns tokens when they do it, but not the other child. One of them struggles not to leave a trail of possessions around the house. That child earns tokens when they pick up all their stuff, but not the other child. Most things on the list earn 1 token but some things that are extra difficult and/or are things I want to promote especially, earn 2 or 3 tokens.

When first introducing a token system, it might work better to keep the list of desired behaviors small - like 5 things.  It would be ideal for kids to be maxing out the list and asking for more ways to earn tokens. Sometimes it's hard to think small. Think of one behavior you'd really like to see. Imagine how awesome it would be see that one thing change. You're more likely to see it change if you don't put it on a list with 30 other behaviors.

It's also critical that you focus on behavior you want, not on behavior you don't want. Otherwise you will be promoting what you don't want. If I say don't think of a pink banana, what do you think of? Difficult to think of anything else and so you fail. If however I say, think of a purple frog, you can do that, right?  At meal times, one of my children tends to touch, kick, hit, and bug others at the table.  So we ask that child to keep their hands and feet to themselves rather than focusing on what we don't want them to do.

For the record, I haven't figured any of this stuff out myself. It was all taught to me by my kids therapists.

List of Privileges and Stuff to Earn
It is important all privileges (things you would not consider fundamental needs) be earned.  If it's only nice-to-haves that they must earn, most kids won't be motivated to earn them.  A good way to differentiate between fundamental needs and wants is to ask, will I go crazy if they don't earn X?  At our house, trampoline time is a fundamental need.

Kids should spend the majority of their tokens every day on stuff they really want.  They can save a small portion for a bigger item if they want to.

These are things my kids can spend their tokens on

• 1 playmobil piece or lego piece from a set (they earn 1 piece of a set at a time, in the order the pieces are listed/shown in the instructions)
• Watch an episode of educational TV
• Watch an episode of TV
• Look on amazon (for stuff they want to earn) with Mom or Dad for 5 min.
• Watch a YouTube video with Mom or Dad
• Ride bike outside
• Use of shuffle/mP3 player for the day
• Use of kindle for the day
• Watch a movie
• Purchase a TV episode on amazon
• Rent a movie on amazon
• Purchase an audiobook
• Buy a toy, lego set, or playmobil set
• Buy a new kindle
• Go on a big outing (not really an option rightnow)

At our house a token is equal to $0.10.  So if a child wants to earn a $10 toy, they need 100 tokens. The cost of various privileges ranges from 1 token to upwards of 1000 tokens.  I try to make sure there are many things in the 1-10 token range for them to spend on.  My kids are likely to earn 20 tokens a day though they could earn like 40 if they really went for it.

Tokens
Here's what I use.  $13.99 for 900 bingo chips on amazon.  Anything small and light weight could work.  You could make your own.

Redeeming Tokens
I was surprised by how much time and energy goes into this part of the system.  I have not discussed this part so much with therapists, just figured out what would work for us.  I might be doing it all wrong. I'm ok with that.  My kids are not allowed to redeem tokens until after we finish chore time each day.  It can be difficult to keep track of what they have earned. My brain is pretty full already.

So, at various points in the day (basically after we finish one of our mini routines like breakfast, school time, chore time etc.), I make tally marks on a paper for each child to keep track of tokens they have earned.  Then, after chore time, I hand out all the tokens.

Tokens are truly money at our house and my kids struggle with impulse control so I keep tokens with me, safely in sight but out of reach of kids, or locked up, all the time.  Yes, it's a pain.  But it's worth it.  

Break it Down
When I first gave my kids the big list of ways to earn tokens, they were totally overwhelmed and not even a little bit motivated to do it.  They also both struggle with what is called executive function.  They need help breaking big tasks down and planning how to complete them.

So I broke our day up into several mini-routines and typed up all the things they should do for that mini-routine.  All the things earn them tokens.  We started with just one mini-routine - the morning, pre-breakfast routine.  I gave them each a laminated print out of the routine and asked them to come to me as they completed things on the list so I could mark it off.  Once the morning routine was a habit we added the next mini-routine.  We now have routines for Morning, Breakfast, School Time, Lunch Time, Chore Time, Afternoon, Evening, and Bedtime.  No we don't do it all, probably ever, and we sometimes don't do any of it.  But most of the time, we do most of it, and we are all happier.

Here's an example of a mini-routine.  This is my kids morning routine and they can earn tokens for all of it.

• Shower
• Lotion Arms and Legs
• Get dressed
• Comb or refresh hair
• Brush teeth
• Make bed
• Clean room
• Bathroom chores
• Personal laundry
• Come to the table for breakfast

I think we started with just Shower, Make bed, and Come to the table for breakfast.  I can't say it enough.  Start small.  Just a couple things.  Make it routine.  Build from there.

Give it Time
It has taken us months to get our system working smoothly and we continue to refine/update/change it as we go.  If it's not working, simplify.