Assessing preferences of individuals with developmental disabilities: a survey of current practices

Although professionals working with individuals with developmental disabilities have much to gain from using systematic methods of reinforcer identification, practitioner knowledge and use of stimulus preference assessments (SPA) has rarely been examined. The purpose of this survey was to assess awareness and implementation of SPAs among professionals who serve people with developmental disabilities within and outside the field of applied behavior analysis. A total of 406 individuals responded to the survey; 246 respondents were recruited via direct email, and 160 respondents were recruited from Internet postings. Fewer than 60% of respondents across all disciplines (i.e., applied behavior analysis, psychology, and special education) reported knowledge of the term stimulus preference assessment. While nearly 90% of behavior analysts reported using at least one direct method of SPA (i.e., an assessment involving direct observation and measurement of behavior), many reported personal lack of knowledge (18.6%) and lack of time (81.4%) as barriers to conducting these assessments on a regular basis. Survey results are discussed in terms of (1) the need for greater awareness and acceptance of reinforcer identification methods among behavior analysts, educators, and other service providers and (2) barrier-specific solutions to potentially increase the regularity of SPA usage in the education and treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities.