Using differential reinforcement to decrease academic response latencies of an adolescent with acquired brain injury.

The team worked with a 16-year-old who had a brain injury. The teen was slow to start schoolwork.

They used three tools together: clear rules, a token board, and praise for quick starts. Tokens could buy small prizes.

The teen began tasks faster when the new plan was in place. Latencies dropped and stayed low.

No extra prompts were needed once the system ran.

Burgess et al. (1971) and Phillips (1968) showed tokens lift schoolwork in pre-delinquent boys decades earlier. Lawer et al. (2009) now shows the same tool works after brain injury.

Robinson et al. (1981) used a class-wide token game to raise work output nine-fold in hyperactive third-graders. The new case proves the tactic also helps a single high-schooler with neurological damage.

Cihon et al. (2019) later added a twist: hide the number of tokens needed. That keeps kids guessing and talking longer. R et al. kept the requirement fixed, which is simpler for a teen recovering from injury.

If you work with students who hesitate after brain injury, pair a short rule statement with a visible token board. Start with one token per quick response, then thin the schedule. You can see faster starts in one session and fade the system as fluency builds.