Incorporating Preference Assessment into Transition Planning for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Use quick preference assessments to pick vocational and community goals for autistic learners instead of relying on staff opinion.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Tullis and colleagues wrote a how-to paper, not an experiment.
They argue that every transition plan for people with autism should include a real preference assessment.
The paper maps where to plug MSWO, paired-choice, or brief free-operant probes into IEP and vocational planning meetings.
What they found
The authors show that most transition plans now rest on staff guesswork.
They lay out a step-by-step script: assess, document, share, and revisit preferences each year.
No new data; the piece is a roadmap ready for teams to test.
How this fits with other research
Ausenhus et al. (2019) extends this idea by proving remote BST works. They trained staff across three states to run preference assessments through a laptop camera and hit mastery in under four hours.
Al-Nasser et al. (2019) adds a cheap DIY tool: a picture-rich self-instruction packet let college students with zero ABA background score 90 % fidelity on the same MSWO steps Tullis wants in transition plans.
Baez et al. (2026) reminds us preference can be subtle. They caught bilingual preschoolers choosing Spanish over English during PECS use, showing assessments must probe language, not just toys or jobs.
Together these papers turn Tullis’s call into something you can hand a teacher tomorrow: a packet, a webcam, or a quick language probe.
Why it matters
If you write transition goals, stop guessing. Run a 5-min MSWO, jot the top three items, and build vocational tasks around those reinforcers. One extra page in the IEP can replace hours of escape behavior later.
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Join Free →Open the current transition IEP, add a line for MSWO results under 'student interests,' and schedule one 10-min assessment before the next meeting.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often struggle with communicating preferences integral to the transition planning process. Systematic preference assessments (SPAs) are objective methods for observing and documenting learner responses to a variety of environmental stimuli. An extensive literature-base exists supporting the inclusion of SPAs when identifying potentially reinforcing stimuli for educational programming. Although these methodologies are effective, in the transition planning process they may be useful beyond identifying potentially reinforcing stimuli. The following commentary provides an overview of the transition planning process, as well as how preference assessment may enhance that process.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s40617-019-00353-6