Comparison of methods to assess the preference for work activities with an individual diagnosed with intellectual disabilities

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2015

First Committee Member

Hanley, Gregory

Second Committee Member

Sassi, Jessica

Third Committee Member

Karsten, Amanda

Abstract

"As individuals with developmental disabilities age, it becomes important to seek out appropriate employment sites to aid in their transition to adult life and independence (Hendricks & Wehman, 2009). Determining the most appropriate work task for the client to perform can be challenging when the client has difficulty expressing their biases (Lattimore, Parsons, & Reid, 2002; Mithaug & Hanawalt, 1978; Reid, Parsons, and Green, 1998). Despite the difficulties inherent in determining the preferences of individuals with disabilities, measures ought to be taken in order to determine a task that the learner will be successful at completing in a job placement. Preference assessments have become a staple of the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, as they allow practitioners to give clients the opportunity to experience different items, interactions, or contexts and choose those they prefer the most (Deleon & Iwata, 1996; Fisher et al., 1992; Hanley, Iwata, Lindberg, & Connors, 2003; Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, & Iwata, 1985; Roane, Vollmer, Ringdahl, & Marcus, 1998). Although mostly relegated to the presentation of simple items (e.g., toys, edibles), investigators also have applied preference assessment procedures to work tasks (Hanley, Iwata, Lindberg, & Connors, 2003; Mithaug & Hanawalt, 1978; Lattimore, Parsons, & Reid, 2002; Reid, Parsons, and Green, 1998; Worsdell, Iwata, & Wallace, 2002). While the aforementioned studies have done much to increase our understanding of useful methodologies for determining the preferences of learners with developmental disabilities, questions remain as to how to select an assessment as well as the type of measure to employ in order to best determine work preference.

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