Effects of deprivation on engagement in preferred activities by persons with developmental disabilities

This study examined the effects of deprivation on engagement in activities for 3 adult men with developmental disabilities. First, an assessment was conducted to identify a high- and a low-preference activity for each participant. Second, the high-preference activity was made available following three amounts of deprivation of the activity (15 min, 2 hr, and 1 to 4 days); the low-preference activity was made available following the schedule of deprivation that produced the highest level of engagement by each participant in the high-preference activity. The results were that 1 to 4 days of deprivation produced the highest average amounts of engagement in the high-preference activity for each participant; this amount of deprivation did not produce high engagement in the low-preference activities. Third, the deprivation procedures and results were replicated when high-preference activities were presented by teachers during the participants' daily activities when their engagement had been quite low.