Student (Max)

EDU 348
12/3/2019
Preference Assessment
Participant Background
The participant of this preference assessment was a 1st grader on the autism spectrum.

Max is primarily African American and lives in a suburban area with his parents and siblings.

Cognitively, Max has low engagement in most school subjects and is unmotivated most of the

time. Max’s teacher expressed that he needs work in the areas of spelling and writing. Through

the America Reads tutoring program, Max is tutored in the areas of reading and math by myself

and other tutors who work with him weekly. Max is placed in the lowest reading and math class

with about nine other students that rotate out depending on their progress throughout the year.

The students within his class range from having ADHD to behavioral problems. Max is the only

student within the class that is put on an IEP. The IEP plan is discussed regularly between his

tutors, teacher, and other school personnel about his progress and what strategies to use to help

him accomplish his goals. From experience throughout the semester and through the preference

assessment, he gets sidetracked, but works great when I work with him individually. He is very

smart; it just takes a bit of one on one practice to help him figure out certain problems and

questions. Once myself, a tutor, or the teacher directs him along the way of the material he is

learning, he cooperates much better and completes his work. It is very difficult for Max to pay

attention in class, as he needs encouragement and someone to guide him along the material.

Once he is motivated to complete the material, Max makes progress in his school work.

I conducted this assessment at a table outside of Max’s reading and math classroom on a

Wednesday the morning as reading started. I tutor Max on Monday and Wednesday mornings,
so it was not an inconvenience to administer the preference assessment. The materials used in

this preference assessment consisted of the following: Legos (the same amount he uses in class),

math counters (same amount the teacher gives him in class), stickers (one page), toy “stress”

ball, and a color cube. The teacher and I discussed what materials used on that Monday. We

decided to use manipulatives that he would use in class to help when he was fidgety; in class, he

uses Legos, and math counters. The teacher also suggested some sort of ball or cube, along with

stickers, as Max sees stickers as a reward. Max was very interested in the assessment and did

well the majority of the time. I gave him M&M’s as a reward when he picked a material to play

with.

Results

Because there were five materials involved within the preference assessment, there were

five sessions with five trials in each session. I began the first session by telling Max that I am

going to give him five objects or toys. He was to pick which he wanted to play the most at that

exact moment. Even though he was already familiar with most of the toys, I presented the five

toys by explaining each toy and placing it on the table in front of him. In the first trial, after I

placed all of the toys on the table, I asked Max which toy he wanted to play with and he

immediately chose the toy that he was most familiar with, which in this case, were his Legos.

Because of the familiarity, he chose the Legos to play with most of the time. I allowed him to

play with the Legos for a brief period while I recorded my results and took toys away from the

table. Then, I asked Max if I could have the Legos back. Max resisted for a long time. I told

him I would extend the time and once the time was up, he would receive an M&M. After the

minute was up, he hesitated, but then I reminded him of the M&M, and he slowly gave the toy
 back to me. I immediately rewarded him with an M&M. I continued the process by again

presenting the toys to Max and asking him to choose which he would like to play with.

Session 1 Date: 11/13/19

Item Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 TOTAL

Legos Y - - - 1
Math Counters N N Y - 3
“great job” stickers N Y - - 2
Toy “stress” ball N N N Y 4
Color Cube N N N N 0

Session 2 Date: 11/13/19

Item Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 TOTAL

Legos Y - - - 1
Math Counters N N N Y 4
“great job” stickers N Y - - 2
Toy “stress” ball N N Y - 3
Color Cube N N N N 0

Session 3 Date: 11/13/19

Item Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 TOTAL

Legos N Y - - 2
Math Counters N N Y - 3
“great job” stickers N N N Y 4
Toy “stress” ball Y - - - 1
Color Cube N N N N 0
 Session 4 Date: 11/13/19

Item Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 TOTAL

Legos Y - - - 1
Math Counters N N N Y 4
“great job” stickers N N N N 0
Toy “stress” ball N Y - - 2
Color Cube N N Y - 3

Session 5 Date: 11/13/19

Item Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 TOTAL

Legos N Y - - 2
Math Counters N N N N 0
“great job” stickers N N N Y 4
Toy “stress” ball Y - - - 1
Color Cube N N Y - 3

Hierarchy Item Chosen/Presented Percentage

#1 Legos 5/7 71%

#2 Toy “stress” ball 5/11 45%
#3 “great job” stickers 4/12 33%
#4 Color Cube 2/6 33%

#5 Math Counters 4/14 29%

During the five sessions, Max was consistent in his pattern of which toy he chose all the

time. The graph/table above displays that Legos were chosen 71% of the time, which is much

different than any other toy. The “stress” ball was the second highest percentage, which was
interesting, considering Max has never played with the “stress” ball in the classroom. The

stickers and color cube both had 33%, which was fascinating to me. I thought Max would

choose stickers more because it is a reward for whenever he would do something good. Max

chose the math counters the least amount of times during each trial and session, resulting in 29%.

It was surprising, considering Max’s two manipulatives during class are Legos and math

counters. These results and calculations were found by dividing the number of times an item

was selected by the number of times an item was presented.

These results can be used as reinforcement within school activities that Max seems to be

less engaged or unmotivated in. The Legos can continue to be used as manipulatives for Max,

along with incentives for his main goal. The second highest percentage, which was the “stress”

ball, can be used for difficult tasks, such as completing homework problems. Moving on down,

stickers and color cubes can be used for simpler tasks, such as completing task analysis and

behavior chaining. Lastly, math counters can continue to be used as manipulatives and can

slowly replace Legos, as Legos can be meant for reinforcement for bigger goals.

Reflection

Throughout this experience, Alex seemed to be unsettled at times. Because I have

previous experience with him through tutoring, I believe this relationship that was already

established and formed, helped him to feel more comfortable than if it was a stranger. I thought

it was interesting that Max did not choose stickers as much as I thought he would, considering

myself and the teacher gives him stickers in class as a reward for completing an assignment or

performing a good act. While assessing Max, I learned that the purpose of a preference

assessment is to find other ways to motivate and engage students with disabilities through their
favorite toy. Overall, I learned how beneficial preference assessments are, especially within

inclusive classrooms.