Description of a Practitioner Model for Identifying Preferred Stimuli With Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The rich technology of stimulus preference assessment (SPA) is a product of 40 years of experimental research. Basic principles of reinforcement and a modest empirical literature suggest that high-preference stimuli identified via SPA may enhance treatment efficacy and decrease problem behavior more effectively than less-preferred stimuli. SPAs can be conducted using one of several methods associated with different time requirements and outcomes. Despite the broad applicability of preference assessments, we are unaware of widely available practitioner guidelines that prescribe when to use SPAs, how to select and modify specific SPA procedures, and how to supplement SPAs with other procedures for maximizing performance. The purpose of the current article is to describe a model for practitioners to select and conduct preference assessments based on practical considerations and research findings. Data are also reported from the application of the proposed model to preference assessments for 20 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

An Evaluation of a Brief Multiple-Stimulus Without Replacement Preference Assessment Conducted in an Electronic Pictorial Format

“…Difficulty might also arise when providers need to access the same stimuli to conducting preference assessments with multiple students. Further, administration of a traditional MSWO may be impractical if the goal of the assessment is to assess preference for intangible events, such as activities or social interactions (see Karsten et al 2011).…”

An Evaluation of a Brief Video-Based Multiple-Stimulus Without Replacement Preference Assessment

“…Aside from the predictive validity of MSWOs in identifying reinforcers, MSWOs may take less time to complete than other types of preference assessments, such as paired-stimulus (Fisher et al 1992) preference assessments. MSWOs also provide complete information about how a student's preference for an item compares to preference for other items (Karsten et al 2011). The development of the brief MSWO (Carr et al 2000) has further decreased administration time, and as a result, brief MSWOs are arguably an optimal form of preference assessment for most students in EIBI settings because of their quick administration time and accuracy in identifying potential reinforcers (see Karsten et al for a decision-making model for identifying an appropriate form of preference assessment for an individual with autism).…”

A Survey-Based Method to Evaluate Optimal Treatment Selection for Escape-Maintained Problem Behavior

“…Future researchers might consider an experimental method of evaluating the model's effectiveness that has greater congruence with events that commonly occur in clinical practice and measures actual occurrences of problem behavior in response to treatment (i.e., evaluating intervention effectiveness). For example, Karsten, Carr, & Lepper (2011) conducted an experimental validation of a clinical decision-making model for selecting the appropriate stimulus preference assessment given the prevailing environmental circumstances. A similar method could be adopted to experimentally validate the model in the present study to further support the results of our evaluation, which was based on non-experimental hypothetical contexts.…”