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Using Preference Assessments in ABA Therapy
Published on 15th November by ABA Simplified
Preference Assessments are a commonly used tool in ABA therapy. For learners with more advanced verbal repertoires, it might be as simple as asking them what they want to earn but for others, potential reinforcers and preferred stimuli might be less obvious. To avoid inadvertently punishing desirable behavior or providing insufficient reinforcement, it is important to identify potent reinforcers. This is where preference assessments come into play! They help us identify stimuli that our learners are most interested in and might possibly be reinforcing to them. They include making use of surveys, observations and trial-based methods of identifying preference hierarchies, i.e. the rank order of a range of stimuli from most preferred to least preferred.
Why Must We Use Preference Assessments?
Just as no two people are alike, what serves as a reinforcer for me, might not be of any value to you. Preference assessments allow us to identify the unique preferences of each child, enabling us to create personalized interventions. They are also helpful in understanding the special interests of our learners. With this valuable information, we are able to build their unique interests into our programming (naturalistic environment teaching is an excellent example of this!) to make learning fun!
As with everything in ABA, conducting preference assessments is a data-driven process, providing crucial information on our learners’ preferences. This data can be used to make informed decisions regarding the selection and modification of interventions. As preferences may evolve, ongoing assessment ensures that interventions remain relevant and effective.
How Often Are Preference Assessments Conducted?
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the frequency of preference assessments. You may choose to assess potential reinforcers very frequently like every session, or less often, for example, once a month. The frequency of preference assessments will depend on the specific needs of your learner.
If your learners’ preferences are known to change frequently, or if their behavior indicates that a current reinforcer is no longer preferred, more frequent preference assessments might be necessary.
Types of Preferences Assessments
- Ask
- Free Operant Observation
- Trial-Based
- Single Stimulus Preference Assessment
- Paired Choice Preference Assessment
- Multiple Stimulus With Replacement (MSW)
- Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement (MSWO)
Ask
You can ask the learner and/or their caregivers about their preferences. You can use interviews, questionnaires, visuals with pictures or the actual stimuli to get an idea of their preferences! You can also make use of open-ended questions or give them a choice between two items. Learners/caregivers can also rank preferences in order from most to least preferred. Make sure to ask several people in your learners’ support network like teachers, parents, siblings and other family members to get a complete picture.
One of my favorite ways to build in learners’ preferences in-session is to offer a pre-task choice by asking “what do you want to earn?”. This helps me make sure that I am always offering stimuli that is potent in the moment.
Free Operant Observation
- Free Operant Observations can be conducted in two ways –
Naturalistic: This can be done in the learners home or natural environment where the learner freely engages in everyday stimuli without us including anything additional. - Contrived: With this method, we intentionally include stimuli we want to assess within reach of the child.
With both methods, we observe the learner for a pre-determined amount of time. We’ll need to take note of whether your learner approached the stimuli or had an adverse reaction to it, whether the child engaged with the stimuli and for how long they engaged with each stimuli i.e the duration of engagement. At the end of the assessment, the stimuli are then ranked from highest to lowest duration, which make up the preference hierarchy.
Trial-Based Preference Assessments
There are 4 types of trial-based preference assessments that can be used with your learners. The current skill set of your learner will determine the most appropriate method that can be used.
1. Single Stimulus Preference Assessments: Perfect for learners who have difficulty selecting between 2 or more stimuli, a single stimulus preference assessment is also known as successive choice. As the term suggests, we offer one stimulus at a time and record the learners’ responses and engagement (or lack of engagement). This method is also perfect for learners who have challenges with relinquishing preferred items since we allow the learner to engage in the stimuli until they choose to give them up.
2. Paired Choice Preference Assessments: These are perfect for learners who can choose between two stimuli and do not have difficulty relinquishing preferred items since trials will be presented quickly and the time that the learner is allowed to engage in quite short (usually 15-30 seconds to prevent satiation). In this method, each item is paired with every other item in the assessment. The item that has been selected the highest number of times will be the highest preferred item and the item selected the least number of times will be the lowest preferred item.
3. Multiple Stimulus With Replacement (MSW): These are best suited for learners who can make choices among large arrays of items. This method can also be used with learners who have difficulties relinquishing preferred items since they will always be able to select the same item. In this method, the learner selects one item from an array of items. While the learner engages with their selected item, the location of the other items is changed and the selected item is added back to the array after a brief duration of engagement, typically 15-30 seconds.
4. Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement (MSWO): This method is best suited for children who can adequately scan and make choices from a large array of items. It is however not suitable for children who have difficulty relinquishing preferred items. In this method, the learner selects one item from an array of items and engages with them for a short duration, typically 15-30 seconds. The array in each successive trial becomes smaller and smaller since the selected item is not added back to the array. The item selected first is the highest preferred stimulus and the item selected last is the least preferred.
By making use of preference assessments and uncovering the unique preferences of our learners, we can develop interventions that are not only individualized to our learners but also use stimuli that are motivating, helping us develop interventions that create long-lasting behavior change.
For those eager to streamline their preference assessment game, make sure to check out my Preference Assessment Data Sheets Bundle that includes digital and printable data sheets! These data sheets have been designed to simplify the process and are fully editable!
