This investigation compared the effects of choice and assignment of preferred and nonpreferred tasks on the work performance of three students with moderate intellectual impairments and challenging behavior in a classroom setting. After assessing student task preferences, a multielement design was used to evaluate three conditions: (a) assigning a preferred task, (b) assigning a nonpreferred task, and (c) providing a choice between work tasks. Results indicated individual participant data were idiosyncratic and choice making failed to produce superior effects for any of the participants. Students' task preferences changed from preassessment to postassessment, although their nonpreferred tasks remained unchanged. Results are discussed in terms of previous research and future research needs with this student population.
In this study, we evaluated the effect of individualized, embedded choice opportunities in daily routines on the task initiations and protests by one man with severe disabilities. An initial functional analysis conducted during Phase J revealed that low rates ofparticipation and high rates of protests in household activities were related to prompts that offered no control. Subsequently in Phase 2, we modified prompts within three different routines to provide greater control through choice. Within the context of an A-B-A-B design, the effects of a "traditional" no-choice versus choice task analysis were evaluated in each routine across three staff. The results demonstrated that when routines included opportunities for choice, task initiations were high, whereas protests, including severe aggression, were virtually eliminated. These results are discussed in relation to their implications for participant control, individualizing choice opportunities, embedding choice in daily routines, and the prevention of problem behaviors.
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