Preliminary Assessment of Choice Making among Children with Rett Syndrome

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to assess choice making among seven children with Rett syndrome. Study 1 entailed 20 opportunities to choose between a pair of food, beverage, and leisure items. All children made choices by either looking at or touching one of the items. However, half the opportunities elapsed without a choice having been made. Study 2 was designed to analyze the function of these no responses. Each item was offered individually on 10 separate occasions and the child received the item even if a prior choice had not occurred. Items were generally accepted whether or not a prior choice had been made. This suggests that the lack of a choice may not necessarily indicate lack of preference and that the relationship between selecting and accepting items may vary as a function of task configuration. Nonetheless, both configurations provided useful assessment information.