Dear Parents,

 

Prizes have always been a consistent way of motivating me - whether it was a small sticker or something larger, it just had to be something that motivated me. 

 

The types of rewards that would motivate me were things like candy (swedish fish, starburst, skittles, etc.), small toys, stickers. 

 

The first child specialist I saw would always give me candy after each session. If I wasn’t good, she wouldn’t give me candy - it was as simple as that. And I don’t believe it was just me… I think she did this for all the children she saw because it worked for everyone! 

 

Now, I don’t need rewards to do things that are purposeful. For things like school, getting good grades is now enough for me - I appreciate academic validation and feeling smart. I like proving to myself that I am smart, and seeing the good grade makes me feel some relief (I get upset when I get a 93… if it’s a 94 or above, I have a sense of relief). 

 

Dear Parents (from a parent),

 

This idea of 'rewards' is really interesting to me, and somewhat surprising since I wouldn't have thought of it on my own.  I do remember that Dr. Spector (the behavioral psychologist) that Merrill saw once a week for 2-3 years, DID use a reward system.  And - to be honest - I thought it was a little odd that she would give you candy without clearing it with us first. Not that we would have said 'no', but in this day and age, a lot of parents do not want their kids having candy…! 

 

I do recall that Merrill most enjoyed her Occupational Therapy sessions. She always looked forward to going to these - and these were the only sessions she consistently wanted to go to.  I think it was because they involved physical, and not overtly cognitive work. It was as if the work itself wasn't work.

​

​

What was actually happening?

 

I liked candy, so I wanted candy… it was pretty simple :) The occupational therapy was fun and not complex, so it was something that was easy to look forward to.

​

​

Things I’d recommend to help your child in a situation like this:

 

• Organizing a rewards system that will motivate your child to cooperate with you

• Communicating that rewards system idea to whomever is working with your child