Thread by @Spectrum0Gaming

WE USED SCHOOL RULES, A BEHAVIOUR CHART AND STICKERS ON ADULTS - HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED
(Written by Hanna, Clinical Psychologist at Spectrum Gaming)

This year we tried out a new activity as part of the Autism in Schools train the trainer project.

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A lot of the content of the training is based on anti-behaviourist practice, but we recognise that behaviourist practice is “normal”, so we wanted to give the participants the opportunity to reflect on the experience of reward based systems.

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I put my crafting skills to the test to make a reward chart and Andy grabbed his chalk board and we got to thinking about what (quite typical school) rules we wanted the group to follow. We decided that we would ask the group to follow these rules for 30 minutes,

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if they broke a rule they would move into the ‘rainy cloud’, if they were following the rules they would move up into the ‘sunny’ section (and have the chance of getting a sticker!)
We had a string of messages between us questioning whether we were really going to do this

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and whether we needed to begin the activity with taking fully informed consent from the group. I was worried about the potential discomfort of the participants..what if they felt shame? What if they weren't able to do the things that make them feel comfortable?

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I was quickly reminded that young people often don’t have the option to opt out of compliance based systems.
So, we went ahead and I’m so glad we did! It generated really interesting discussions. One participant noticed that they were so focused on the chart

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that they didn’t take in any of the content of the presentation. Various members spoke about having to suppress their needs and that they weren’t able to put in strategies to support their learning, like taking notes on a tablet or moving,

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for fear of ending up in the ‘rainy cloud’. One of the participants who was put in the ‘rainy cloud’ spoke about the impact on his motivation to listen to the content and follow the rules, with him thinking ‘what's the point’ and ‘I can do what I want now’!

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Reward based systems mean that learners have to internalise their needs in order to comply, even if meeting these needs is important for feeling safe and being able to learn.
In our practice, we see the impact these systems have on young people.

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Young people talk about feelings of fear and extreme levels of stress they have experienced as a result of reward/ behaviour charts. Interestingly a lot of the young people who struggled with them the most were always on the “good side”,

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but they were still incredibly scared of being in trouble or being the centre of attention within class. They focused so much on “good behaviour” that they weren’t able to learn.

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If you are someone who has used rewards in the past (like me!) this post isn’t intended to create guilt or shame, but instead an invitation to join us in advocating for neurodiversity affirming practices.

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