Clicker

This is a bit of a random idea however I have seen success with the strategy. Kids with disabilities, specifically autism have great difficulty reading facial expressions and vocal intonations. One of the reasons that these things are so challenging is because every face is different and we all control our facial muscles differently. Even with the same person like the child's mother providing praise or reprimand her face and intonation will change depending on many factors. Imagine for a minute that you have a full nights rest, eaten a great breakfast, and overall are having a good day. Well when you praise your child I bet the energy level and emotion is more energetic. Now let's say that your child kept you up all night, you are exhausted, you haven't had a moment to yourself but your child did something well I bet your praise will be much less energetic. How is a child, that has difficulty determining facial expressions and vocal intonations supposed to understand if what they just did was correct or incorrect? What I am suggesting is to use a sound device such as a "Dog Clicker" Every time the child produces a correct response from things like following a verbal direction, using the bathroom, looking you in the eyes, reading, etc. you provide the verbal praise but in addition to that you also add the click of the "clicker" The reason for this is because over time with paired associations the child will realize that the click that always sounds the same no matter what the circumstance = positive. Then with the help of the click the child will begin to learn that your words and facial expressions also mean positive. When the child does something inappropriate try to keep your voice monotone, lacking facial expressions, and no clicker so this should help them distinguish between a desired response and undesirable. Some nice features with using a clicker over other sound options include portability. You can attach the clicker to your wrist, wear it around your neck, or simply keep it in your pocket.