

However you choose to put this together, make sure it’s durable and made to last.Autism visual aids are most commonly referred to as PECS, which means: Picture Exchange Communication System. If all else fails, use bingo chips as durable large tokens or stickers with smiley faces on a consumable board to get those same positive behaviors you’re looking for.


Maybe you choose to put this visual reward system on the students desk so that it’s clearly visible, even if that makes it less portable. You can also laminate it and use a whiteboard marker to keep the lost tokens out of it. In other words, plan on pieces being lost or destroyed. Even though you have a set number of tokens on the board, always have extra token pieces available. (And remember to put the prickly velcro dot on the tokens, not the board). Laminate all the pieces and add velcro dots. That means you have to put it together in a way that will be durable. Token boards are the best behavior modification tool for students with special needs. That means buy-in is huge in this process. We want them to give us the correct response or appropriate behavior. This is all about individualized support that’ll get that appropriate behavior from a student. You can also use different themes for your token economies, based on student interests and preferences. You can use those visual images if that’s what’ll work best for your student. The next thing to do is get all the necessary items to create a perfect visual reminder for your students. You can take those with your cell phone’s camera to make it extra easy. You can use icons for the visuals, but picture cards work too. Have the primary reinforcer handy, but also a good selection of secondary reinforcers too. Ask yourself if they prefer tactile rewards, like a tasty treat, a preferred item, or access to a place or person. Completing a preference assessment can help a lot with this.

One of the most important things to know when you use any token economy system is what a student will work for. A simple token board is a great way to help students with an autism spectrum disorder to have good behavior, complete tasks, or find the motivation to do the things they may not necessarily want to.
