I have a young lady who is very routine oriented. She will choose a reinforcer and work for it consistently which is great. But then she will perseverate on getting that item. She will request it over and over again and will insist on you verbally acknowledging her request. She is nonverbal and uses an iPad. She will scream and get aggressive if you do not reply. I have tried a variety of things in the past and am looking for some new ideas. Any suggestions?
How about making the reinforcer random in nature such that perseveration on a predictable reinforcer isn't possible. For example, instead of letting her choose from 3 reinforcers, instead see if she will work toward earning a spin on a "reward wheel", or whatever you want to call it. This would just be a simple wheel with pie sections that have words or pictures of various reinforcers. After she completes a task, she earns a spin. She spins the wheel and gets the reward or reinforcer, but is unable to perseverate on a specific reward the whole time, rather just on the act of spinning the wheel.
The same could be done with writing rewards on pieces of paper and putting the in a hat or tumbler that she gets to pick from or tumble (think bingo), Again, the perseveration could only be focused on the action of choosing a random reward rather than a specific reward.
One other thought is to make a list of 5-10 rewards and make it mandatory that she must cycle through them and cannot repeat. She may still perseverate though as she will be able to predict the reward she will be working for.
Best of luck!
I have a similar situation. However, the student will perseverate on a specific item that he wants and that item may not be available at time. For example, an art project that he needs to complete first but he wants to take it home "right now." If he does not get this item, he can become VERY aggressive. He has not mastered how to wait for things. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
