Denise Richard

SPCE 680_805

Wilczynski Text Learning Assignment #1

Chapter 5 – Client Preferences

From reading chapter 5 of the Wilczynski text, I learned that behavior analysts, when

determining best practices, should guide their treatment based on what their client prefers

(reinforcers, objects, attention, etc.) and always offer the client choices (33). Wilczynski’s

main idea in this chapter is that all clients have a right to be involved in their treatment

planning process and should be offered choices whenever feasible (33). Guiding treatment in

this way can make it more acceptable for the client and may produce better outcomes (33).

The most important thing I learned from this chapter is that when individuals are offered a

choice, they are more likely to master a skill at a faster pace (35). It was also quite interesting

to read about preference assessments, and how they can be used in a group setting (34). I

learned about environmental enrichment from Wilczynski, and how giving a client non-

contingent access to engaging items is also a way to offer choices and preferences (36). In my

current job, one of the BCBA’s uses a “behavior contract” for one of the students. The

student and BCBA made this contract together, and at the end he signed his name. I was

amazed that chapter 5 mentions this type of strategy, and I learned that this is actually a type

of intervention called contingency contracting which I have never heard of before (36).

With the information I learned in this chapter, I can better guide my teaching practices

in my current position at a school for kids with autism. For example, I can complement my

teaching strategies in the classroom by providing students with more choices when it comes

to ways they want to learn. During break times in the classroom, sometimes it is hard to

gauge what a student likes to play with and what they are interested in. I can use the

information I learned in this chapter about preferences and environmental enrichment by

having more attractive items and sensory options in the classroom. Conducting group

preference assessments is another strategy I can implement more in the classroom by offering

more choices when it comes to playing games and choosing videos. Overall, this chapter

taught me many useful strategies that I can use with my students in the classroom.
 Works Cited

Wilczynski, Susan M. A Practical Guide to Finding Treatments That Work for People with
Autism. Academic Press, 2017.