Conducting an Informal Preference Assessment

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Brief Description

Maggie is a six-year-old girl with autism. When attending, she can follow many basic requests. Her expressive language consists of a variety of one- to three-word phrases. She rarely exhibits tantrums, but is often inattentive. She will work with a teacher for 20-30 minutes without breaks, and transitions well between activities.

Maggie typically asks for what she wants using one-word statements. It is important for Maggie to learn to use full sentences because her one-word requests are not likely to be understood by people outside her family. This will interfere with socialization and learning in school.

In this vignette, Maggie's mother is reinforcing appropriate requests by giving Maggie the item she has requested. Maggie is also learning that reinforcement does not always occur every time a behavior is performed by having to wait more than one trial for a reinforcer.

Detailed Description

Guide to ABA Terms and Concepts

Behavior Issues

Maggie, a six-year-old girl with autism, is able to ask for items and activities that she wants with one-word utterances. .She has some difficulty asking for things using more than a one word (for example saying "rides" rather than "I want to play rodeo"). She also has difficulty maintaining eye contact with others.

Goal

Maggie will ask for things she wants using full sentences, and then wait to earn the item until after she has completed a learning activity.

Teaching Sequence

Maggie is learning to ask and wait for her reinforcers. In the future, she will learn to expand her requests to sentences (for example, "I want ___," "can I earn ___," etc.). She will also learn to wait longer (more trials) to earn her reinforcer.

Consequences

Maggie's mom uses the reinforcer Maggie herself has chosen to reinforce each trial.

What to Look For

Maggie's mom is very attentive to what Maggie chooses as her reinforcer, and even allows Maggie to change her mind from "super-dupers" to "rides." This is very important to keep Maggie motivated and to give her a sense of control over her learning times.

Before each trial, Maggie's mom is sure to check with Maggie to see what she would like to earn, even if she is likely to choose the same item. This gives Maggie extra practice with her requesting skills.

What Comes Next?

Maggie's behavior in this segment is good: focused, accurate, social, and extended. She is learning, and enjoying it. Her mom has created a structured setting, which helps Maggie to remain undistracted by the environment. Lessons such as these could be expanded and adapted to include many kinds of skills. Maggie will eventually expand her requesting to all types of activities.

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