Assessing Preferences And Choices Of Persons With Severe And Profound Mental Retardation

A cumulative review and analysis of 27 empirical investigations that assessed the preferences and choices of individuals with severe or profound mental retardation was conducted. We aggregated characteristics of studies, including purpose, research design, demographic variables, and methodological features (i.e., responses assessed, length of assessment, type of data collection, number and type of stimuli presented, presentation of stimuli). Findings revealed that, since 1978, a technology has been developing for assessing preference and choice via six types of participant responses across a variety of stimulus presentations. These findings are discussed for the purpose of informing the field regarding future directions for research and practice in preference and choice assessment.