ECONOMY

     It wasn't until I learned about "Token Economies" and applied that knowledge to Charlie's behavior plan that I more than understood the system..I LIVED it.  TO UNDERSTAND the system was one thing, to LIVE IT.. WORK IT... was a SHIFT from the THORITICAL to the PRACTICAL. 

  It is an understanding of how ACCESS to things leads to getting needs met,  and  how TIME is the medium in which knowledge GROWS.   The principles of the economy are doorways to POWER;  once understood and used,  you can see its importance in understanding human behavior.

ECONOMY BASICS

     In any economy there are products, sellers and buyers.  There are  exchanges made where Things(products, services..SOMETHING WANTED  is  obtained for a PRICE.  The value of anything is determined by how "important" that thing is to someone.  There are needs, interests, wants and desires that determine how much we Value and how much we are willing to PAY or it. 

     There are basic needs like food, water,  and shelter that we need to live. And there are things that interest us, and things we can use and things that we are drawn to..  There are things that satisfy our emotions (comfort, security, pleasure, safety, power) that underlie what we want. At its most basic level a need is being met by getting some THING we Want. Sometimes the motivators for a thing can be clearly seen, sometimes not.

It begins with provision of things.  To make the Economy work you need to know  what the "buyer WANTS.

     When I first observed Charlie (the eight year old boy with autism) in his Special Education classroom, I observed him during a FREE TIME period.   This is a time that the students have to do what they want.  They are free to explore, to play to move around and are allowed to do ANYTHING that isn't dangerous or hurtful.  During that scheduled half hour Charlie went to the "toy table" and picked up a toy piano, touched the keys and and listened to sound of the notes.  He laughed  as he played then  picked up the Disney Truck and listened to the tune it played.  He  also picked a baby boy doll that made a crying sound when you pressed on his belly.  

   It was evident that he liked toys that made sounds and those were the products that would be valued in his economy.

(To be continued..)

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