Preference Assessments and Student Behavior
Hot or cold? Toasted or plain? Sweet or unsweet? We’ve all got things we like and others that we don’t. They are called preferences. From a young age, we become accustomed to regularly communicating our likes and dislikes. However, for children with autism, conveying their preferences to their parents, therapists or friends can often prove to be very difficult. Understanding their preferences is especially important when these children are learning new skills in therapy. Without them, problem behaviors including aggression, self-injury or defiance (non-compliance) can emerge. These behaviors interrupt and take away valuable time from therapy sessions.
At Steinberg Behavior Solutions, we’ve learned one of the best ways to increase productivity and help our young clients combat problem behaviors is to utilize student preferences (Dunlap & Kern, 1996). True to the Assisted Behavior Assessment (ABA) approach, we always conduct a preference assessment with every new client. This evaluation equips us with very valuable information about what they like and how much they enjoy it. In turn, we use this information to stem problem behavior and encourage productivity during therapy.
Choice Making
Once we’ve identified a client’s preferences there are two ways we can utilize this information. Firstly, there’s choice making. This refers to presenting options to our young clients in a menu fashion and allowing them to select what they’d like to work on or work for. Our experience has shown us that many problem behaviors are developed and strengthened in children with autism because they feel a lack of control over their environment and the inability to communicate what they want and don’t. By allowing for choice-making during therapy you are including the child in the decision-making process. Together the therapist and child become a team working towards a common goal.
Preferred Stimuli
A second way to incorporate a client’s preferences is by using preferred stimuli. Simply put, this means changing a problematic task into something more pleasurable by incorporating a child’s preference (usually identified in a preference assessment). For example, if a student has a difficult time imitating sounds, but enjoys animals, including animal sounds may help the student to stay on task and focused. Suddenly, the request that once produced problematic behavior from the client no longer does, thanks to the introduction of a preference.
Whether a child’s therapy includes choice making or preferred stimuli, both have the capacity to decrease problematic behavior and increase productivity. It’s important to remember, regardless of the way the way the preference is utilized, a thorough preference assessment before starting any therapy must be conducted. A therapist needs to know what their young client likes and dislikes. Without that critical information, they might be offering them an assumed preference. If it is not a true preference, therapy time, energy and skills will be lost and the problematic behavior they were trying to avoid may reappear.
References:
Dunlap, G. & Kern, L. (1996). Modifying instructional activities to promote desirable behavior:
a conceptual and practical framework. School Psychology Quarterly, 11 (4), 297-312.