title: Predicting the relative efficacy of verbal, pictorial, and tangible stimuli for assessing preferences of leisure activities.
abstract: We measured the relationships between choice stimulus modalities and three basic discriminations (visual, visual matching-to-sample, and auditory-visual) using the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test. Participants were 9 adults who had moderate to profound developmental disabilities. Their most and least preferred leisure activities, identified by prior preference assessments, were presented using choice stimuli in three modalities (tangibles, pictures, and verbal descriptions) in an alternating-treatments design. For 8 of the 9 participants, discrimination skills predicted the selections of choice stimuli associated with their preferred activities. The results suggest that choice stimulus modalities in preference assessment of leisure activities need to be matched to the discrimination skills of persons with developmental disabilities.
authors.affiliation: University of Manitoba.
authors.forename: Cecile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sakko
authors.forename: Kirsten M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.forename: Kerri L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marion
authors.forename: Garry L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014796:Visual Perception