Previous researchers have demonstrated that using stimuli identified via daily brief preference assessments may produce more responding under concurrent-schedule arrangements than using stimuli identified via lengthy, pre-treatment preference assessments (DeLeon et al., 2001). To date, this has not been evaluated within the context of skill acquisition. Thus, the extent to which conducting daily brief preference assessments impacts the rate of skill acquisition during discrete trial instruction (DTI) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how frequent, pre-session preference assessments, influence the rate of skill acquisition relative to an initial preference assessment during DTI sessions for three children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two of the three children acquired the targeted skills faster in the frequent preference assessment condition. The third participant showed no difference in the rate of skill acquisition.
