ASSISTING OLDER ADULTS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES IN EXPRESSING LEISUREPREFERENCES - A PROTOCOL FOR DETERMINING CHOICE-MAKING SKILLS

We evaluated a protocol involving two types of choice presentations fo r assessing leisure choice-making skills of seven older adults with se vere disabilities. Initially when presented with pairs of objects repr esenting choices, choice making was validated through demonstration of an object preference. A more complex choice presentation format was t hen employed, involving pictures to represent choices. If the preferen ce identified with objects was not demonstrated using pictures, a repl ication of the object format occurred to ensure changes in choice maki ng using pictures was not due to a preference change. Five participant s demonstrated choice-making skills using objects and two demonstrated choices using pictures. These results reflect the importance of asses sing choice-making skills prior to presenting choice opportunities. Su ggestions for future research focus on expanding the assessment protoc ol to include a wider array of choice-making skills and training staff to provide choices in a format commensurate with an individual's skil l level. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.