Technology-aided programs for assisting communication and leisure engagement were assessed in single-case studies involving two men with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Study I involved a 51-year-old man with a virtually total loss of his motor repertoire and assessed a technology-aided program aimed at enabling him to (a) write and send out…

The latest researches use software technology (OLDP, object location detection programs) to turn a commercial high-technology product, i.e. a battery-free wireless mouse, into a high performance/precise object location detector to detect whether or not an object has been placed in the designated location. The preferred environmental stimulation is…

In the current study, behavior skills training (BST) is compared to a computer based training package for teaching discrete trial instruction to staff, teaching an adult with autism. The computer based training package consisted of instructions, video modeling and feedback. BST consisted of instructions, modeling, rehearsal and feedback. Following…

A variety of technology-aided programs have been developed to help persons with congenital or acquired multiple disabilities access preferred stimuli or choose among stimulus options. The application of those programs may pose problems when the participants have very limited behavior repertoires and are unable to use conventional responses and…

This study was aimed at replicating and extending early research on technology-aided stimulus choice with two adults with multiple disabilities. The technology-aided program involved (a) a computer-aided system presenting the participants samples of different environmental stimuli and (b) a microswitch device allowing them to choose among those…

The latest researches have adopted software technology turning the Nintendo Wii Balance Board into a high performance standing location detector. This study extended Wii Balance Board functionality to assess whether two people with developmental disabilities would be able to actively perform designated physical activities according to simple…

Although it is shown that attention plays an important role both in the onset and in the regulation of emotions in people without disabilities there is no information about how attention is related to emotions in people with severe or profound intellectual disability (ID). Therefore, in our study, we investigated the role of attention in the onset…

We developed a technology-aided intervention strategy relying on pictorial cues alone or in combination with verbal instructions and assessed these two versions of the strategy with three persons with moderate Alzheimer's disease. In Section I of the study, the strategy version with pictorial cues plus verbal instructions was compared with an…

We delineated the achievement of early speech-language milestones in 15 young children with Rett syndrome ("MECP2" positive) in the first two years of life using retrospective video analysis. By contrast to the commonly accepted concept that these children are normal in the pre-regression period, we found markedly atypical development of…

Five teenagers with severe intellectual impairments and no discernible communication skills were enrolled in training to teach a conditional request for assistance using a speech-generating device (SGD). All were either blind or severely visually impaired since birth. All learned to operate an adaptive switch to control sensory outcomes, next…

Purpose: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have difficulty participating in role-pretending activities. The concept of adaptive play makes play accessible by modifying play materials for different needs or treatment goals for children with CP. This study examines the affective expressions and imagination in children with CP as a function of…

This study provided that people with multiple disabilities can have a collaborative working chance in computer operations through an Enhanced Multiple Cursor Dynamic Pointing Assistive Program (EMCDPAP, a new kind of software that replaces the standard mouse driver, changes a mouse wheel into a thumb/finger poke detector, and manages mouse…

This study extended the assessment of a computer-aided telephone system to enable five patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease to make phone calls independently. The patients were divided into two groups and exposed to intervention according to a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across groups. All patients started with baseline in…

This study assessed microswitch-based technology to enable three post-coma adults, who had emerged from a minimally conscious state but presented motor and communication disabilities, to operate a radio device. The material involved a modified radio device, a microprocessor-based electronic control unit, a personal microswitch, and an amplified…

These two case studies assessed technology-based programs for promoting walking fluency and improving foot-ground contact during walking with a man and a woman with multiple disabilities, respectively. The man showed breaks during walking and the woman presented with toe walking. The technology used in the studies included a microprocessor with…