Teaching · Special Education

What this student actually likes, from the people who know.

Ask the student, the family and the staff who work with them. List each item by kind and how much the student likes it. The summary ranks them, shows whether you have activities and social items as well as things, and catches food used without written limits.

Start an interviewWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Special Education toolkit, $99 for 100 items.

The preference interview

One interview per student, repeated as preferences change. Use initials or a code, never a name. The example is made up.

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What you get

Teaching · Special Education$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
For each student, a ranked list of preferred items with kind, who named it and notes, things to avoid, food limits and a next step, with a summary of the kinds covered and anything to check before you use the list.
Who it is for
Special education teachers, behavior staff, school psychologists and paraprofessionals planning reinforcement or a preference assessment for a student.
Format
Browser organizer with an item table. Several saved records; printed with the summary or as a blank paper form; CSV of the item table; export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Special Education toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
Drawn for this page. Asking the student, with pictures or real objects if they need them, often names things no adult would have guessed.

How to use it

  1. Start a record with the student’s initials or a code.
  2. Note who answered and how the student answered; offer pictures or real objects when talking is hard.
  3. Add each item with its kind, who named it and how much the student likes it. Be specific.
  4. Write down dislikes and, if food will be used, allergies and diet limits from the family.
  5. Choose the next step; a short preference assessment with the top items usually comes next.

Start an interview

What the interview is for

A guess until tested

An interview narrows the list; it does not prove what will motivate a student. A short preference assessment, offering items in pairs or in a group and seeing what the student picks, tests the guesses, and only a change in behavior shows something is working as a reinforcer.

More than food and toys

Activities, social attention, sensory items and jobs often work as well as treats, last longer and fit a classroom better. The summary shows which kinds you have and which are missing. Food needs the family’s permission and their list of limits.

Ask the student

Students who do not speak can still choose: point to pictures, use their device or reach for one of two objects. Their own picks often surprise the adults. Records use a code, never a name, and stay in this browser.

Sources

  1. Fisher, W. W., Piazza, C. C., Bowman, L. G., and Amari, A. (1996). Integrating caregiver report with a systematic choice assessment to enhance reinforcer identification. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 101(1), 15–25.
  2. Fisher, W., Piazza, C. C., Bowman, L. G., Hagopian, L. P., Owens, J. C., and Slevin, I. (1992). A comparison of two approaches for identifying reinforcers for persons with severe and profound disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25(2), 491–498 (paired-choice assessment).
  3. DeLeon, I. G., and Iwata, B. A. (1996). Evaluation of a multiple-stimulus presentation format for assessing reinforcer preferences. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29(4), 519–533.
  4. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(i) (positive behavioral interventions and supports).
  5. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR Part 99.

The example student is made up. The organizer records preferences people report; it is not a preference assessment or a behavior plan, and it holds no state rules. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.