#4 Happy, Relaxed, and Engaged (HRE): How-To and Data Collection

What does “Happy, Relaxed and Engaged” (HRE) mean? This guide describes more about what HRE is, how to help identify it in your clients, considering leisure skills and HRE data collection. We’ll also discuss “aberrant” and atypical HRE and how you may want to address this HRE in your clients.

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What does “Happy, Relaxed and Engaged” (HRE) mean anyways?

HRE stands for Happy, Relaxed, and Engaged and is our goal for our learners. When a learner is HRE, they are ready to learn and are in a better space to practice the skills of acceptance, toleration, and cooperation.
· Promoting Happiness- Clinicians can provide more autonomy (assent and consent) over the selection of the environment, utilize survey-based tools or more specific preference assessments to determine a hierarchy of preference, and utilize synthesized reinforcement contingencies.
· Promoting Relaxation- Clinicians can provide signals that indicate that adult led instruction is finished, remove any demands from the setting, and look for behavioral characteristics “such as relaxed limbs, slower speech, and unexcited movement.”
· Promoting Engagement- Clinicians can individualize materials selected so that correspond with preferences, ensure there are enough materials to engage with, switch materials on a regular basis, and take a “passive but supportive role when with their students near breaks.”

Importantly…every person’s HRE is different, and identifying the individualized conditions so that HRE is possible is the foremost step to any trauma informed and compassionate behavior change program.

Citation
Gover, H. C., Staubitz, J. E., & Juárez, A. P. (2022). Revisiting Reinforcement: A Focus on Happy, Relaxed, and Engaged Students. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 55(1), 72–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599221123185

-Matt Harrington

How do I find my client’s HRE?

There are many different ways you can find what makes your client Happy, Relaxed & Engaged!

HRE Context Questionnaire

This tool from Cristina D Theis is designed to guide you in interviewing the caregiver (or client when applicable) to help identify what HRE might look like for them. You can download this in doc format by clicking here.

HRE Topography: 

Interview the caregiver (or client if applicable) and ask what does it look like for the client to be happy, relaxed, engaged? Try to identify overt behaviors that indicate this state (ex. laughing, smiling, shoulders down, breathing regulated, stimming or not stimming etc.)

HRE Tangibles: 

What are the client’s most preferred items/activities? Favorite characters/shows/toys etc.? How do they enjoy these items? Alone or with others? In their room/outside etc.?

HRE Social: 

Does the client enjoy proximity or being alone? High or low affect/energy? Physical interactions such as high fives, tickles, sensory input? Do they enjoy being asked questions? What are their interests or preferred topics of conversation?

HRE Environment: 

What is the client’s preferred environment – their room? outside? living room? Does the client enjoy having others present in their environment?

HRE Communication: 

What does the client’s verbal behavior look like when they are HRE – do they communicate at high rates, are they more quiet, do they engage in vocal stereotypy etc.?

HRE Cessation: 

What context will reliable end the client’s HRE state?

Leisure Skill Repertoire Expansion Sheet

The Leisure Skill Repertoire Expansion Sheet is designed to help you identify what is currently part of their HRE… and what you might be able to add or change to make the learning context even better for your client.

What if my client likes cause and effect/destructive HRE?

Many clients love to see things crash, fall, and break! Here are some ideas for safe ways to provide that type of reinforcement.

What are some fun cause and effect materials to use in sessions?

Great thread idea! When we are working on Universal Protocol and establishing Boundaries as well as establishing HRE, it’s important to figure out what we can say yes to and what we need to say no to. If there are activities that appear to bring our learner into HRE but have unsafe elements, creative thinking can be a great way to ensure that safety and caregiver concerns are addressed while helping the learner find their joy. In the training, Hanley discussed how often learners are told “no” more and more often because the caregivers are concerned that saying “yes” “might” lead to challenging behavior and this can lead to increased rates of PB as learner’s circles of reinforcement get narrower and narrower.

Two ideas for adaptation for this sort of thing would be a stomp rocket and one of those simple machines that throws a ball automatically, like for a dog to chase. I also did a box of plastic straws, special shredded paper (like eco friendly Easter basket fluff), mini pompoms, cotton balls, etc. Each had their own box so we could rotate and choose different ones, and sometimes mix them but then cleaning them up was part of HRE.
-Emily Kearney

What are some less messy alternatives to throwing sand, flour, sugar, etc. that give a similar visual?

Our student seemed to like looking through the item as it was floating down rather than watching the item itself. We had success using 2 inch wide strips of tulle. Later, she would even take large squares (3ft x 3ft) and wave them in front of her face or over her head for a similar effect.
-Michelle Kilcrease

How do you help staff members be more “silly” or enthusiastic?

I can really relate to this. I wasn’t extremely silly/high energy when I was younger. During my career, a lot of my previous supervisors and co-workers modeled different examples. I practiced a lot and then put my own spin/personality into it. Once I started having kiddos respond positively and engage more, it really reinforced my behavior. I’ve now been able to be more silly and it is natural feeling at this point.

To add on more…essentially you may need to do BST and have very specific modeling of ways to be “silly”. Some specific programming ideas might be like: telling jokes, making silly faces, building a tower then knocking it over by “accident”, laughing contest, and pretend play. Basically a lot of play skills can have a spin of silly to them. Hope this is helpful!
-Alyssa Figueroa

Any edible substances that can be picked off of something, pinched and peeled back?

Many many ideas! Peeling fruit (grapes, oranges), fruit roll-ups, babybel cheese, candy, string cheese, twizzlers….

What if my client engages in counter control or “aberrant” HRE?

Here are some threads about how to problem solve when HRE includes negative attention, counter control, and other uncommon social reinforcers.

What are some ideas for negative attention seeking or silly HRE?

With these scenarios, I find it’s a combination of adding similar elements to SR that have an abolishing effect on the higher magnitude members of the response class and at the same time a program addressing boundary setting.

I will often set up an item that it is okay to steal at the start of the session, pull it out of my bag and say “this is SO SPECIAL! I would be SO SAD if it went missing!” and then give really big reactions when I see it is missing. Same thing for graphic language, I will tell them about a word I heard about on youtube, did you hear about it? “jargleburting” it’s disgusting! don’t tell anyone I told you! – and then every time they say it I give a big reaction. BUT, this goes with the clear boundary when it goes too far, which it totally can!
-Elishia Merryweather

How do I work with a client who seems most HRE with “signs of damage”?

The key here is shaping. Using that same response that is maintaining those larger behaviors and providing that response for less intense/harmful behaviors. It’s similar to a don’t do that type of game but the quality and type of attention needs to be similar to what those other behaviors were producing.

For example- people are usually very aghast when kids talk about punishing other people. What I’m saying is re-allocate the aghast response to something non harmful or a shaped down version of this so the behavioral magnitude stays low to access the reinforcer of specific types of attention from adults.
-Hillary Laney

I also find the work by Steve Ward to be helpful with these types of learners. There are some types of games that you can play with learners that can match some of that stimuli – like “don’t you dare!” types of things and ways to change it up depending on the developmental level of the learner.

For older, more vocal verbal clients, these learners tend to LOVE stories that I tell about situations where something bad happened to me – but of course I don’t tell them anything too personal or too bad – for example, I have a story about how all 3 of my dogs jumped on me while I was drinking coffee one morning and spilled the coffee on my head and that story has gotten me a lot of mileage with this crowd. I’ve totally workshopped it lol. So sometimes it turns into kind of a “guess what happened to me?” game and that is part of the HRE/reinforcement that they enjoy. It’s like slapstick comedy.
-Melisa Santocere

How do I find HRE for confrontation and correction seeking learners?

Tolerating being wrong and accepting corrections are tough, and I’m just guessing, but I bet “guessing” is an issue too?

Who wants to be wrong? Its aversive, and its common to see problem behavior when you tell a learner he is wrong. It means “reinforcement is not likely coming my way now”. This is likely something to target once you get to CAB6, and you have built up basic compliance, and you’re ready to target the challenging stuff.

For now, find ways to spice up the fun during reinforcement. Many learners think its funny to be “bad”. They may not have the perspective or empathy to understand how another person is “feeling”, but they may find it funny to see others “in trouble”, or they may find it funny, or at least stimulating, to “get in trouble”.

I know a learner who has moved on from property destruction and aggression to pretending to “delete” someone, “pausing” them, or pretending to break the TV or iPad by pulling up the “broken TV” YouTube image. Of course, she will get people, show them, and laugh when she “gets in trouble”. She’s moving from wreaking havoc to playing, and it is good stuff!
-Jill Revere

I’m thinking of 2 broad things…put “yes” and “no” into contexts favorable to more appropriate interactions (e.g., play Hotter/Colder with the words “yes/no”; ask whether s/he would like a preferred item; etc) and engage in a lot of joking about “no” (e.g., “I don’t want to eat the broccoli” which is subsequently give to you by the student and which “disgust you”). I’ve successfully used “no” jokes in some fairly advanced contexts (e.g., “I know you can’t do this puzzle and I’ll be soooo mad if you prove me wrong”.)
-Steve Ward

How can I incorporate elements of negative attention into a student’s day (or HRE in an appropriate way)?

I think this is easiest at recess: you better not swing so high! OMG that is so scary!! Don’t climb that (climbing) wall, it’s too tall! That’s unsafe! Oh no! You can also figure out “slightly” unsafe things and pick on those a bit “OMG, you just flipped your pencil around to erase so fast you almost hit your nose!”
-Brittany Jay Gimbrone

I think you’ve done an awesome job identifying that the “unsafe behaviors” are not really what he potentially even wants to do, but rather the consequence that he receives from those statements/actions is what has become extremely reinforcing to him. There are a variety of ways that you can provide this form of attention during SR so that your learner is less likely to seek these additional unsafe opportunities and then you can shape these response over time. Does your learner engage in high rates of mand compliance during SR?
-Nathan Dennis

Any tips for getting an independent sFCR when the student is highly motivated to NOT do what is prompted by adults?

When you say a learner who is “highly motivated to NOT do what adults want” you are describing an “ODD” scenario which just means he likes to “YES” all your “no’s” and “NO!” All your “yes’s.” If this is the issue, then you got yourself a funky reinforcer and that could be your primary problem.
-Merrill Winston

Was the PFA conducted in the same environment that the EOs are now being placed in? You could also consider running another PFA and reinforcing very low levels of problem behavior over many trials. This could potentially reinforce the relationship you have with the learner and they may be more likely to hop into the SFCR after understanding that their behavior has power.

I wonder if the response effort is too high for the hot EO? There are a lot of things to consider. You could also use a card that says “my way” and gently tap the learners shoulder right before the PB occurs and reinforce back to their way- obviously you would have consider if they would even be willing to accept that. You could gradually increase the response effort from them after several successful trials. Have you considered role playing with another staff member as well?

Also, giving your learner opportunities to control the environment and the way things are to be controlled throughout SR would be a nice place to look as well.
-Nathan Dennis

Are there any parent-friendly resources to describe counter-control and how SBT is designed to reduce these issues?

I don’t think there is one particular protocol that will consistently be effective in treating counter-control. Rather, I consider a variety of variables, such as: how much does the learner enjoy interacting with me; what is the variety of activities he enjoys with me; what are the activities he is most likely to “go along” with; does he see me as a source of reinforcement (including for tangible goods, assistance, etc); how well does he communicate that he doesn’t want to do something; how consistently/readily do we reinforce requests to avoid/delay something; does he enjoy the “social banter” that can be associated with counter-control; which expectations is he most likely to resist; why is he most likely to resist those expectations; what is the relative proportion of High P vs. Low P expectations I’m presenting? Exactly how is he engaging in counter-control? Exactly how are we responding when he engages in counter-control? There is obviously a lot more we could look into.
-Steve Ward

I’m struggling with adding in negative attention to a client’s HRE – what do I do?

Having had to learn more playfulness with my own kids, I read the book Playful Parenting. This teaches you how to play so many games that are developmentally appropriate. (For instance, giving “negative attention” or roleplaying where I’m the child and they’re the parent giving me “negative attention”…) This book was helpful to me and when I have had learners who needed something similar, my repertoire came in handy.

Just think learning to play is something we don’t teach staff all the time, but many psychologists teach PARENTS to do it and it’s a helpful thing on my bookshelf for clinicians now! I have to second Megh’s comment below though too. With anything our learners are craving, diving into it before exploring the why, could be problematic. Sometimes they’re telling us about something that is scary… FOR A REASON. I always appreciate starting with the question “ok, and is there anything else I need to know about why this is so meaningful, before using it as a reinforcer?”
-Camille Kolu

What if my client’s HRE is TOO intense?

Another way to describe this is “Happy, JACKED and Engaged” which can sometimes escalate into R1/R2 behavior. Some people call this “HJE”. Read on for some threads related to this topic.

What advice do you have when seeing R2/R1s during SR? This seems to be due lack of peer engagement skills or just being happy, jacked and engaged.

A few thoughts…does the client have a play repertoire? Are there enough interests that are safe to do and if not, how can I help them to expand this repertoire?

Are there unplanned EO’s I can identify? Can I reduce or eliminate these?

If you can not reliably turn on and off the behavior, SBT is not a viable option.
Is the happy-jacked-engaged associated with just some but not all reinforcers and is that level of excitement a R2?

Maybe client loves physical activity but physical activity leads to aggression. Maybe use other reinforcers that are less powerful but do result in behavior turning on and off.
Don’t be afraid to use parts of the treatment if full SBT is not an option. Don’t be afraid to focus on skills and circling back to SBT if needed. Best wishes!
-Cindi Kennedy

What do you do when the HRE IS the challenging behavior?

This sounds like Happy, “Jacked” and Engaged (HJE). I had a learner that was interested in similar activities and we had to spend an ample amount of time shaping the Jacked part down a little bit, since we had similar outcomes— couldn’t turn it off, and also found later on that we could not run trials if he was HJE vs HRE.
-Megh Moloney

I’ve had a lot of success shaping down aggression/rough play with clients who enjoy it. Non-contact hits get a huge reaction, while contact gets minimal-no reaction, if the learner is looking for that (example: if the client uses “Jedi moves”, the therapist dramatically “collapses” to the ground, but if contact is made, they are reminded of the “rules” and/or the therapist does not give a dramatic response). I also like to make lots of “aggressive” activities (like tug of war, arm wrestling, thumb wars) available. Another strategy is to make body to body contact available ONLY with certain objects (a mat where wrestling is okay, American Ninja Warrior type toys) – these objects will eventually become SDs and targeting denial of those can concurrently target the unavailability of rough play.
-Kalyn Danielle

Can you shape down “jacked” engagement?

Probably doesn’t apply to your learner but has he had more traditional ABA? I have a learner that kinda freaked out when I tried to switch to SBT because he missed the structure and predictability. I ended up sort of considering table work the SR and then focusing on expanding leisure skills in the EO. But it’s definitely traditional ABA with the spirit of SBT.
-Taylor Johnson

What if my client’s HRE is very low key?

Sometimes we see behavior that we term “CONTENT, Relaxed and Engaged.” The learner may not be ecstatic but they have a positive affect and are able to learn. Read on for some considerations when you are seeing this in your learner.

What do you do when you have a learner who is happy in the SR condition but creating that big, exciting synthesized condition hasn’t happened yet?

I love this question! I reflect upon this all the time. I often use the term CRE (content relaxed and engaged). I rarely walk through life smiling all the time and giggling, yet I am happy, certainly happy enough to engage in difficult tasks. I think rapport is essential, together with the absence of R1/R2’s and the absence of distress signals.
Infact, personally speaking, I would find it exhausting if someone worked to make me overly happy all the time. Sometimes I just want to hang out w ya.
-Penny Holloway

What if I can’t really get HAPPY, relaxed and engaged? Is “relaxed and engaged” enough?

I’ve looked at it a couple different ways. I know originally it was considered content, then defined as happy relax and engaged. So a lot of times if I find the person is content then I’m okay. As you mentioned it may not be physically visible but you can tell by other characteristics that you may be in a good enough spot to run it. Also remember the big question is, is the person willing to work to stay where they are / doing what they’re doing.

So if they are content and engaged and doing what they’re doing and it would be motivated to stay there then you may have the conditions from which to run an EO. I find as we have all mentioned that happiness can look different and there’s different levels to it so understanding all the different things that might be considered happy will definitely help in the situation.
-Ed Sanabria

What if my client only wants electronics in HRE?

What if my client is only engaging with electronics and not with me?

I have the same challenge with several clients. The iPad is a big part of HRE. If we remove it from the the environment we get high rates of dangerous behavior. I did attempt to only allow access during certain times if the day but there was a significant increase in challenging behavior so we went back to allowing access during HRE all day.
I’ve been working with the techs on enhancing HRE. I’ve spent a lot of time coaching them on introducing novel activities and items into the environment. This has really helped increase interaction with the line technicians during HRE. My next plan is to introduce a leisure branch to their SBT program.
-Melissa Coco Raymond

What am I supposed to be doing during HRE time?

How much do you engage and interact with your learner during the reinforcement interval? Do you sit in the same location everytime, or follow learner around the room and play together?

there are so many ways to engage with a learner during HRE that you don’t really have to worry about doing it “wrong” as long as you are paying attention to how your learner is responding. I’ve worked with kids who would be absolutely annoyed if I followed them around the room the whole time and I’ve had other kids who would be annoyed if I didn’t do that!
I will say that I prefer to be as engaged as possible during HRE because then I’m not the person who just comes in to ruin their good time every so often. So I look for ways to engage with the learner that improve their experience of SR and that sometimes requires a lot of creativity but it always involves close observation and curiosity about this particular person.
-Bethany Creech

Should I include food in HRE?

What is the reasoning for avoiding including food as part of synthesized reinforcement?

I would think that the potential boundaries around “no more available” and “only this much” could be unplanned EOs. And if the only way to turn off the Bx is to give the food item are you setting yourself up to be walking around with 80 bags of something? Also- health reasons and habits surrounding making something consumable potentially unlimited.
–Nicky Schneider

To an extent I agree, however context matters (as it always does but even more so in this regard) especially when it comes to food. I don’t think we should avoid food if it’s delay and denial is a major source of PB (that’s what we need to work on!) but sometimes the rules on edibles are dictated for us (e.g., health and safety of student). I also don’t think we need to artificially add snacks to reinforcement in hopes of achieving HRE especially if the kiddo’s reinforcement sensitivities don’t include access to edibles.
I don’t think there is any hard and fast rule, but when it comes to edibles, I try to lean on the exclusion of them unless I can make the case that they’re a necessary component (which for some of my guys they very much have been).
Ed Sidley

How-to videos

Check out our quick YouTube demonstrations on HRE do’s and don’ts!

HRE: Do this!

HRE: Don’t do this!

Being ignored in HRE

Sensory Seeking HRE

Mand Compliance in HRE

Presentations/hangouts

“Whaddya lookin at?” – Merrill Winston

Here is a great presentation from Merrill Winston – “Whaddya lookin at? An analysis of confrontation seeking behavior”. See the slides below:

Check out OUR CEUs on Happy, Relaxed & Engaged!

“Ooooh That Tricky HRE” with Steve Ward and Melisa Santacroce

Data collection ideas

It can be beneficial to include measures of HRE in treatment. It can help you assess progress, troubleshoot lack of engagement, and serve as an indicator of assent.

Here is a thread discussing HRE data collection

Number of Minutes out of HRE Graph Data Sheet

Momentary Time Sampling for HRE Data Sheet

Likert Scale for Tracking Happy, Relaxed & Engaged Separately Data Sheet

Tracking Engagement & Behavior Data Sheet

Was the individual HRE? (Who, What, Where, When) Data Sheet

You’ve made it to the end of this guide, but this is only the beginning! These tools and resources are a great starting point, but you can also utilize our other guides, resources, mentors, and partners to help you along your PFA & SBT journey. Didn’t see your question answered? Want to connect with others? Come join us on our FaceBook community by clicking here. (And don’t forget to answer the membership questions when you join! 😉)