Evaluating Instructor Preference in Children with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

With the increased incidence of autism over the past few decades, there has been a proliferation of companies providing therapy in the homes of children with autism. Most companies hire untrained individuals to provide therapy in the home where the child resides. To date, no research has been published evaluating whether children with autism have a preference between hired therapists, or between hired therapists vs. parents. The purpose of this study was to assess preference for instructor using a paired stimulus forced choice procedure. The current study also evaluated the accuracy of participant responding for maintenance skills across all instructors.