The purpose of this study was to develop and to evaluate the Preferences for Leisure Attributes (PLA) Assessment, a forced-choice computer software program for students with severe disabilities and communication difficulties. In order to determine content validity of the PLA Assessment, four experts in related fields assigned critical attributes to pictures of leisure activities, resulting in an overall agreement rating of 90%. Retest reliability resulted in a correlation coefficient of .87 for the entire assessment. Transition-age youth (14 to 22 years old) with severe developmental disabilities and communication difficulties do indeed have leisure preferences; and the PLA Assessment (a forced-choice presentation of leisure activity photographs) can assist them in indicating their leisure preferences.
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