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Discrimination Skills Predict Effective Preference Assessment Methods for Adults with Developmental Disabilities.
May S H Lee1, Duong Nguyen, C T Yu
1University of Manitoba and St. Amant Research Centre.
Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities
|March 29, 2013
Summary
Adults with developmental disabilities showed preferences for leisure activities across different stimulus modalities. Discrimination skills influenced how effectively individuals could identify preferred activities presented via objects, pictures, spoken words, or videos.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Developmental Disabilities Research
- Applied Behavior Analysis
Background:
- Assessing leisure activity preferences is crucial for enhancing the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities.
- Understanding the role of discrimination skills in preference assessment across various stimulus modalities is essential for effective intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between specific discrimination skills (visual, visual matching-to-sample, auditory-visual) and the ability to identify leisure activity preferences across four stimulus modalities (object, picture, spoken, video).
- To determine how varying levels of discrimination abilities impact preference assessment outcomes in adults with developmental disabilities.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities Test to measure three discrimination skills in 7 adults with developmental disabilities.
- Employed a paired-stimulus preference assessment using objects to identify preferred leisure activities.
- Presented preferred activities in object, picture, spoken, and video modalities using a reversal design to assess preference identification.
Main Results:
- Participants with only visual discrimination skills showed preferences only in the object modality.
- Individuals with visual and visual matching-to-sample skills (but not auditory-visual) preferred activities in the object modality, with mixed results in pictorial and video modalities, and no preference in the spoken modality.
- Participants demonstrating all three discrimination skills showed preferences across all four stimulus modalities (object, picture, spoken, video).
Conclusions:
- Discrimination skills significantly influence the effectiveness of preference assessments across different stimulus modalities for individuals with developmental disabilities.
- The findings partially replicate previous research and extend it by including video stimuli, highlighting the importance of considering cognitive and sensory abilities in preference assessment.
- These results have implications for tailoring preference-based interventions and improving engagement in leisure activities for this population.
