First developed in the 1970s, contingency contracting is a behavior change strategy that identifies a task to be completed and a reward to follow successful accomplishment of the task. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of contracting to improve behavior and teach new skills to children with and without disabilities in home, school, and community settings. Using children’s stories, examples of contracts used by families to help children fulfill household responsibilities, learn new skills, get ready for school in the morning, and make friends at school will be presented. Participants will receive materials for developing, implementing, and evaluating contracts that were field-tested by more than 300 families.

Learning Objectives

1. State the purpose and give an example of the following parts of a behavior contract: Task, Reward, Task Record, Official Seal, and Signatures.
2. Describe a collaborative list-making procedure that parents, behavior analysts, and teachers can use with their children, students, and clients to identify tasks and select rewards for contracts.
3. Identify three common reasons behavior contracts fail and describe a behavior analytic-based remedy for each reason.

About the Presenter

Jill C. Dardig

Jill C. Dardig, Ed.D., is Professor Emerita of Education at Ohio Dominican University where she trained special education teachers for 30 years. She was awarded the Booth-Ferris Master Faculty Award and was selected as an ODU Centennial Person of Influence. A longtime member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Joseph Home for women with disabilities, Jill has also served as a curriculum specialist for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and as a consultant at Centro da Vilariñha, a program in Porto, Portugal that teaches independent living and vocational skills to teens and young adults with developmental disabilities. Dr. Dardig has been a visiting professor at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, and presented workshops for teachers and parents in Europe, South America, and Asia. Jill has written several books and other publications about and for parents including Involving Parents of Students with Special Needs: 25 Ready-to-Use Strategies (Corwin Press, 2008).

William L. Heward

William L. Heward, Ed.D., BCBA-D, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University. He has taught at universities in Brazil, Japan, Portugal, and Singapore and lectured and given workshops in 23 other countries. A Past President and Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Bill’s publications include co-authoring Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd ed., 2020), Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (12th ed., 2022), and Let’s Make a Contract: A Positive Way to Change Your Child’s Behavior (2022). Awards recognizing Dr. Heward's contributions to education and behavior analysis include the Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education Award from the American Psychological Association's Division 25, the Ellen P. Reese Award for Communication of Behavioral Concepts from the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and the Outstanding Contributor Award from the California Association for Behavior Analysis. Bill’s research interests include improving the effectiveness of group instruction in inclusive classrooms.