Relative preferences for edible and leisure stimuli in children with autism

Prior researchers have reported a tendency for individuals with developmental disabilities to select edible items more often than leisure items when those items are presented together in stimulus preference assessments. However, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with whom many behavior analysts currently practice, are underrepresented in this body of literature. We conducted a replication of prior research with 26 children with ASD. Results indicated that edible items were more likely than leisure items to rank highly in our preference assessments, in concurrence with prior research. However, leisure items were also selected more often overall than in prior research, and significant individual variation was observed. These results suggest that preference assessments containing both edible and leisure stimuli can yield useful information for behavior analysts providing services to children with ASD, and the degree of preference for edible items noted in prior work may not be reflected in this contemporary population.