Making the token economy work for my autistic daughter...

 

He said the most important thing you can do for your daughter is to make her independent.

I remember my daughter's psychiatrist saying "Julie it doesn't matter how smart she is,  her IQ can't make a peanut butter sandwich. He was trying to stress the importance of teaching her life skills and how to be independent. It took me a few years to realize the magnitude of what he was saying.

I will be referring to her psychiatrist as Dr.C in this entry. I first heard the phrase token economy a few years ago. Dr. C introduced the concept to me as he reinforcemened the importance of teaching life skills and independent.  

I explained that I understood the concept which is things cost money and a person has to earn money in order to have things. Understanding the concept was easy implementing it was not. 

Dr.C tried to give me relatable examples but those examples just didn't fit in our way of doing things . My daughter was accustomed to getting what she wanted and getting it quickly (myfault) . She kearned immediately gratification at an early age. She was my only child and I had her at 39. To see her face light up when she got a new toy was addicting. Well as she git older she expected to get what she wanted and get it when she wanted it. 

My daughter sees her psychiatrist every three months . We cover her progress, concerns, and medication. After those things are discussed. We talk about her independence as it relates to her age. Then like clockwork he ask if I am still struggling with using a TOKEN ECONOMY to teach my daughter about finances.  

He said let me give you a two more examples . Lets see if these make it more relatable. 

" Ok El we are going to the mall to get you some new sneakers. I know you want those hot pink and yellow sketches , so mom will give you $50 toward them but you will have to use $25 off your money to pay the remaining balance." 

Well I was not comfortable with that scenario. I think it's confusing . She has never had to yse her own money to buy anything really especially not clothes or shoes. 

Dr.C proceeded to give me another example. 

" Yes El mom is taking you to the movies today. If you want to go to McDonald's afterwards to get a happy meal because you want the toy you will have to buy your happy meal. "  Everytime you get a happy meal you take the toy out and throw away the food, so therefore you will need to pay for it. 

That example was better , but unfortunately my daughter is a picky eater and not be interested in a Happy meal. I graciously thanked him and said that I would keep trying. 

My frustration peaked in last December. Reports cards for the 2nd quarter were sent home the day before the Christmas break . When I opened up my daughter's report card I was shocked. Her report card has always be very good . Even with her sensory issues ( auditory hypersensitive , vestibular and tactile issues ) she has always made A's and B's , her GPA has been over a 3.0.

She goes to a small private school. But the student count has increased and the head master of the school has not been as involved with the daily operation.  We set uo a meeting and discovered El was bored, and not completing her assignments. She was manipulating situations and having meltdowns to get out of class. She had two new teachers that did not want her to disrupt the rest class . She picked up on their hesitation and used it to avoid doing her work . She is a sweet adorable young lady, but sometimes lazy. 

I asked the headmaster to allow my daughter's neuro therapist to work her the teacher's and we developed a break strategy to deal with true sensory meltdowns. I felt like those steps would definitely help, but the lack of motivation needed to be dealt with.  

The speeches about the important of getting a good education did not work., the speeches about how fortunate she was to go to a great school did not work, and the speeches about how disappointed would not be enough for daily motivation. 

How would I motivate her ??????

 

 

 

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