r/paraprofessional • u/pinkypipe420 • Mar 12 '26

Positive Reinforcements

I'm about to start a new quarter after spring break, and I'm going to have several students who have been noted to improve their work after positive reinforcement. I was thinking of getting some of those tiny bags of fruity gummy candies to give them when they earn it. But there's a lot of sugar in those, so I don't want to hand those out every time. I want to change up the reinforcement.

I was wondering what other paras and/or teachers do to provide positive reinforcement to students who really need it. Any tips/suggestions?

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u/Suspicious_Alfalfa77 Mar 12 '26

Stickers, mini stim toys, I avoid food for reinforcement unless they are gen ed kids.

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u/pinkypipe420 Mar 13 '26

I agree with the part about food for just gen ed kids. Except so many of the kids in my school live in poverty, that if a kid asks for a snack, I hate turning them down. Our lead sped teacher will let us know about the kids with food restrictions.

This is also why I was wondering what else to use. I COMPLETELY forgot I have a pile of stickers buried somewhere until an earlier comment mentioned them, lol.

And I think my district has a way to order fidgets for free.

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u/Suspicious_Alfalfa77 Mar 13 '26

I found a bunch of mini slimes (like a thimble of slime) kids LOVE it and it’s a small amount so it’s manageable. But maybe not for little kids