Observational Assessment of Toy Preferences Among Young Children With Disabilities in Inclusive Settings: Efficiency Analysis and Comparison With Staff Opinion

Numerous investigations have demonstrated means of assessing preferences among students and adults with disabilities. In contrast, there has been little attention on preference identification among young children. We evaluated a preference assessment with 7 toddlers and preschoolers with disabilitie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavior modification 2003-04, Vol.27 (2), p.233-250
Main Authors: Reid, Dennis H., DiCarlo, Cynthia F., Schepis, Maureen M., Hawkins, Jamie, Stricklin, Sarintha B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Art Materials
Behavior Problems
Biological and medical sciences
Child clinical studies
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
Choice Behavior
Classrooms
Developmental Disabilities
Developmental disorders
Disabled Children
Early Intervention
Female
Humans
Intellectual deficiency
Mainstreaming (Education)
Male
Medical sciences
Observation
Occupational Therapy
Opinions
People with disabilities
Play and Playthings
Preferences
Preschool children
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Speech Language Pathology
Toddlers
Toys
Young Children
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Summary:Numerous investigations have demonstrated means of assessing preferences among students and adults with disabilities. In contrast, there has been little attention on preference identification among young children. We evaluated a preference assessment with 7 toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities in inclusive programs. First, identification of toy-play preferences was compared across three assessments that varied in amount of toy-play behavior sampled and time required for implementation (5-, 10-, and 15-session assessments). Second, results of the assessments were compared to staff opinion. Results indicated the most efficient assessment identified preferences that generally were consistent with preferences identified with the less time-efficient assessments. Results also indicated staff reports did not consistently indicate which toys were played with most frequently. Overall, results demonstrate an efficient means of determining preferences among young children with disabilities in inclusive settings. Results also suggest that staff opinion should not be relied on exclusively to determine preferences.
ISSN:0145-4455
1552-4167
DOI:10.1177/0145445503251588