Introduction: This paper aims to identify to what extent staff training interventions are successful in enhancing the development of communication skills in people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken, conforming to PRISMA guidelines. English language, peer reviewed, empirical studies of…

Video prompting (VP) is an evidence-based practice, but few studies have included teachers and paraeducators as implementers. We adopted one of the single-case designs (multiple probe design) to evaluate the effectiveness of teacher and paraeducator-implemented VP on vocational skills for four high school students with significant intellectual and…

Looking at Cape Henlopen School District as a whole, most students within the district are proficient in reading. When looking at data for young adults (18-22) with autism and other severe disabilities in the Sussex Consortium Life Skills Program, students were not proficient in reading. They could not read functional words within context. This…

Background: Snoezelen is often used for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, but scarcely evaluated. This study aimed to provide insight into the application and perceived effects of snoezelen from the perspective of support persons. Method: We conducted an international survey with professionals (n = 130) and relatives (n…

Background: Interactive engagement, specifically attention and initiation, are considered important skills for facilitating development and learning in students with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Prior research has suggested that music therapy and multisensory storytelling are two promising interventions for supporting…

The participation of students with significant cognitive disabilities in accountability assessments aligned with general education standards is a heavily debated topic in the field of special education. Attempts to understand the impact of these assessments have generally been limited to correlational methods. We employed a…

Background: People with severe to profound intellectual disabilities experience similar or higher levels of depression than those with more mild intellectual disabilities. Yet, there is an absence of evidence about how to adapt existing psychological therapies for this population. Method: A behavioural activation intervention (BeatIt) for people…

The feasibility of a pedagogical approach--MultiSensory Music Drama (MSMD)--was investigated in collaboration with a teacher and a student with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (S/PIMD). Educational research for this group of learners is scarce, but research has suggested the potential of integrating music and multisensory…