Cheez-Its, M & M's, and a Slinky

Levi and I went to our weekly ABA therapy session yesterday. Thankfully, I spent most of the hour giggling to myself as I watched him, rather than holding back tears like I did last time I took him in! That boy is one very smooth little stinker! To begin, the therapist put 4 objects on the table. She named each of them as she showed them to him so he'd know what to call them. Then, she said to him, "Levi, give me the flashlight". At this, he closed his eyes and turned his head. She repeated it. He kept his eyes closed and now turned his body slightly away from her. This continued for another few minutes until he was sitting with his back to her and his eyes closed. At this point, I'm thinking to myself, "Oh crap, here we go again". But then she tells him, "Levi, give me the flashlight and I'll give you an M & M". My precious little stinker promptly opened his eyes, turned to look at her, and handed her the flashlight! From here, therapy progressed rather smoothly as Levi continued to do as asked knowing that eventually he would be rewarded. At times, he even asked for the reward before he would do what she was asking. I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard the therapist tell him "Levi, point to blue" and he answered with "I want Cheez-Its". They repeated this back and forth until she gave him a Cheez-It. After eating the Cheez-It, he picked up the blue card and handed it to the therapist. My grandmother would say he was being a "pill"! He did very well yesterday, learning quickly to say the name of objects that he wanted in order to earn a reward. For rewards, he got to choose either an M & M, a Cheez-It, or a few minutes to play with a Slinky. It was very interesting to watch all of the things that he could/would do and say in order to earn his rewards. When it was over, the therapist gave me a few suggestions for how to use this method at home. I feel like I'm bribing my kid to get him to do what I want, but if that's what it takes I'll do it. Plus, his therapist assures me that it's not really bribing, it's simply "reinforcing desired behaviors". Who knew that Cheez-Its, M & M's, and a Slinky could be such powerful "reinforcers"! Gotta go! I have to run to the store to stock up on Cheez-Its and M & M's!