While preference assessments are effective at identifying potential reinforcers, they consume large amounts of time and resources. Multiple variations have been developed in order to save time and money when conducting assessments such as briefer versions, pictorial formats, and verbal formats. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of three different brief MSWO procedures at identifying effective reinforcers for children with developmental disabilities. The procedures of the current study examined a tangible brief MSWO procedure which provided access to the edibles, a pictorial brief MSWO procedure which provided access to the edibles, and a pictorial brief MSWO procedure which did not provide access to edibles. After hierarchies from all three assessments were identified, reinforcer assessments were conducted to determine the efficacy of highly preferred stimuli. Results indicated that all three formats were able to identify effective reinforcers, with similar hierarchies produced for three out of four participants.

Explicit timing and interspersal assignments have been validated as effective methods to facilitate students' math practice. However, no researchers have explored the combinative effect of these two methods. In Study 1, we extended the literature by comparing the effect of explicit timing with interspersal assignments, and interspersal assignments without timing. Generally, participants' rate of digits correct on easy and hard addition problems was higher during the explicit timing condition than during the untimed condition. However, the participants' rate of digits correct decreased after initial implementation of the explicit timing condition. Motivation plays a crucial role in maintaining performance levels and helping students make continuous progress. Preferred reinforcers and setting academic targets have been widely utilized as active motivational components to increase the likelihood of a successful strategy in school settings. In Study 2, we employed a brief MSWO reinforcer assessment to identify individual student's low- and high-preference reinforcers and examined the effects of explicit timing on interspersed assignments combined with high preference or low preference reinforcers, and setting academic targets. In general, explicit timing combined with preferred reinforcers and academic targets produced a more sustainable effect on participants' rate of digits correct than explicit timing alone. In addition, high-preference reinforcers were more effective than low-preference reinforcers for three of five participants. For two participants, an increasing trend was observed when low preference reinforcers were contingent on meeting academic targets. These results are discussed relative to using preference assessments with students with mild/moderate disabilities.