Running head: PAIRED STIMULUS

Paired Stimulus
Mindy Merten
Texas Tech University

PAIRED STIMULUS

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Paired Stimulus

On September fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth of 2014, I conducted a paired

stimulus assessment with my case study student, Melissa. Considering the severity of Melissas
impairments, I figured it would be best to present one pair of choices each day, totaling three
pairs of items. Melissas movement was of great concern for me because I was unsure how I
could even tell if she liked a particular object. What I found amazed me!
On the first day, September 15, 2014, I showed Melissa a brightly colored plastic slinky
and red cloth ball. Since Melissas hand movement is somewhat limited, I was quite surprised
when I noticed her jerking her head and trying to focus in on the red ball. She also smiled at the
ball. When I picked up the object to hand it to her, she laughed. To me, this signified that she
chose the red ball.
On the second day, September 16, 2014, I showed Melissa a large, yellow plastic ball and
a small, plastic cell phone made of primary colors. Again, Melissa began rocking in her chair
and made purposeful eye contact with the yellow plastic ball. I placed the yellow ball in her
hands, and I noticed that she was trying to move her fingers around the object. However,
touching the ball gave her a negative reaction. She almost seemed repelled by the feeling of the
plastic. So, I presented both objects again. Much to my surprise, she still chose the yellow
plastic ball.
September 17, 2014, Melissa was presented with the yellow plastic ball and the red cloth
ball. Almost immediately, Melissas head jerked toward the red cloth ball and she smiled. Her
choice was very evident, so I placed the small ball in her hands. I could see her fingers trying to

PAIRED STIMULUS
move around the ball; however, her reaction was positive with the feeling of the cloth ball
compared to that of the hard plastic ball. She smiled and laughed quite a bit while the ball was
moving and even enjoyed watching me play with the ball on her desktop.
After completing this paired stimulus assessment, I could tell that Melissa was more
attracted to objects that were yellow or red. This correlates well with the idea that children with
a Cortical Vision Impairment can see yellow and red objects better. I also noticed that Melissa
preferred cloth objects over hard plastic objects. She seemed to have a sensory aversion to the
plastic objects, but the cloth object made he interact with the object more. Watching how
Melissa chose her objects also gave me some insight into how to work with her on a regular
basis. When she did not like the feeling of the plastic ball, she made a distinctive face that
showed her dislike for the touch. However, her giggles and smiles when seeing and holding the
cloth ball was a great way for me to recognize how she enjoyed an activity. Melissas other
strength is the movement of her body. When she moved her head and rocked her body after
sitting still for quite some time, this signified that she preferred an object presented to her. Her
most important strength I noticed by completing this assessment was that she is capable of
communicating her preferences even though she is nonverbal. Her reactions to the objects
amazed me and gave me a whole new perspective to how to teach Melissa.