Background: Patients with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) cannot clearly express themselves. Therefore, tacit knowledge (TK) is crucial in caring for individuals with PIMD, while it possibly also plays a significant role in medical consultations. Method: A qualitative inductive, thematic analysis was performed of 14…

Of individuals with an intellectual disability, 1% are recognized as having a profound intellectual disability and commonly present at a mental age of roughly three years or below. While inclusive music education models and therapeutic models have received considerable attention, there is a scarcity of literature on music education for students…

People with profound and multiple learning disabilities are often excluded from the processes of knowledge production and face barriers to inclusion in research due to cognitive and communicative challenges. Inclusive research--even when intending to be inclusive--tends to operate within criteria that exclude people with profound and multiple…

There is limited research targeting communication interventions for children with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. This study addressed outcomes from a communication course for parents of children with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and follows up on a previous publication by Rensfeldt Flink et al.…

"Dimensions of Communication" is a manual to assess the communication skills and behaviors of individuals with disabilities. It is an assessment instrument designed to help teachers, parents, educational specialists, speech-language therapists, psychologists, and other service providers evaluate the communication skills of individuals…

Purpose: Students with multiple disabilities who are beginning communicators require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to communicate during school and participate in its academic and social aspects. Triadic gaze is a method for accessing low-tech AAC that minimizes physical demands on access for students with limited mobility, such…

Many autistic children experience changes in core symptom severity across middle childhood, when co-occurring mental health conditions emerge. We evaluated this relationship in 75 autistic children from 6 to 11 years old. Autism symptom severity change was evaluated for total autism symptoms using the autism diagnostic observation schedule…

Background: Since the life expectancy of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) is increasing, siblings may take over care/support roles from their parents. Method: To explore how parents and siblings of persons with PIMD view siblings' role regarding future care/support for their family member, we interviewed eight…

Students with multiple disabilities (MD) and concomitant impairments in domains such as vision and communication may experience restrictions in social interactions throughout their school days. These restrictions may be due in part to the intrinsic characteristics and skills of the students with MD, as well as potential barriers from communication…

The transition from early intervention to preschool is a major early milestone for children with multiple disabilities and their families and the first of many transitions they will experience across the lifespan. However due to the low-incidence nature of multiple disabilities, this group has been largely left out of the literature surrounding…

The overall aim was to examine participants' perceptions of a communication course as held for parents of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. The course curriculum included responsive strategies and augmentative and alternative communication. The research questions addressed the favourability, changes in parents' or…

Background: All children have the right to express their views about matters affecting them and participate in decision-making for their future irrespective of their intellectual ability. This study explores the adult role in understanding the views of children with profound and multiple learning difficulties who are not using a formal…

This scoping review addresses peer-reviewed research on musical interaction with children and young people with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (S/PIMD). Twenty-five articles published between the years 2000 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was used to summarise and evaluate different features,…

Supporting children and young people's mental health and well-being is central to UK Government policy, with statistics suggesting post-16 students and those with learning difficulties are vulnerable. This case study explored how practitioners at a special school for students with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties promote…

'Profound and multiple learning disabilities' ('PMLD') is a term used in the UK to refer to children with extensive impairments to cognitive development. The majority of children with PMLD are taught in special schools where specialist interventions are deployed to help PMLD children progress through the preverbal stages of development. Despite…