Effectiveness of pictorial preference assessments for children with disabilities

Pictorial stimulus preference assessments are a valuable resource for practitioners to determine stimuli that may function as reinforcers to aid in possible behavior change plans or skill acquisition objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of electronic pictorial stimulus preference assessments (EP-MSWO) compared to a tangible stimulus preference assessment (T-MSWO) for children. This study includes two participants, aged 2 and 9, and involved in in-home behavioral services. Participants reached level two of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) prior to the study being implemented. Participants were exposed to a pre-matching skills assessment prior to the start of this study. Then, an EP-MSWO and T-MSWO assessment, both with contingent access to selected stimuli. A reinforcer assessment was conducted to confirm the findings of the EP-MSWO and T-MSWO