Objectives: The present study evaluated a new smartphone-based program to help 12 participants with intellectual disability plus visual and motor impairments to self-regulate their stimulation input (thus avoiding their dependence on staff) through simple non-verbal responses. Method: Nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs across participants…

Objectives: This study assessed a new technology-aided program to support independent leisure and communication engagement with people with intellectual and motor or sensory-motor disabilities. Methods: Six adults participated. The program relied on the use of a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 LTE tablet with Android 6.0 Operating System, a NANO SIM card,…

Background: This study extended the assessment of a technology-aided orientation program with auditory cues by including 2 participants with multiple disabilities who had difficulties in indoor travel and showed travel-related anxiety behaviours (e.g., calling for help and whimpering). Method: The study was carried out according to a multiple…

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of a program for training direct-care staff to implement an iPad®-based communication intervention with adults with developmental disability and severe communication impairment. Methods: Participants were 11 adults with developmental disability and 19 direct-care staff drawn from two day program settings.…

We evaluated a video prompting procedure to teach adults with developmental disabilities to take a digital photograph and print it using a laptop computer and a printer. Participants were four men with developmental disabilities. Training was conducted at the participants' residential facility. During baseline, participants were told to take a…

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…

The present two studies extended research evidence on the use of microswitch technology by post-coma persons with multiple disabilities. Specifically, Study I examined whether three adults with a diagnosis of minimally conscious state and multiple disabilities could use microswitches as tools to access brief, selected stimulus events. Study II…

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…

In a recent single-case study, we showed that a new verbal-instruction system, ensuring the automatic presentation of step instructions, was beneficial for promoting the task performance of a woman with multiple disabilities (including blindness). The present study was aimed at replicating and extending the aforementioned investigation with three…

We reviewed studies that aimed to determine whether behaviors, such as body movements, vocalizations, eye gaze, and facial expressions, served a communicative function for individuals with Rett syndrome. A systematic search identified eight studies, which were summarized in terms of (a) participants, (b) assessment targets, (c) assessment…

This study assessed the use of microswitch technology to promote mouth-drying responses and thereby reduce the effects of drooling by two adults with severe intellectual and multiple disabilities. Mouth-drying responses were performed via a special napkin that contained pressure sensors, a microprocessor and an MP3 to monitor the responses and…

This study assessed whether a program based on microswitch and computer technology would enable three post-coma participants (adults) with motor and communication/consciousness impairments to choose among environmental stimuli and request their repetition whenever they so desired. Within each session, 16 stimuli (12 preferred and 4 non-preferred)…

This study assessed a simple behavioral strategy for reducing stereotypic tongue protrusion and forward head tilting displayed by a woman and a man with severe to profound intellectual disabilities. The strategy involved (a) auditory prompting (i.e., verbal encouragements to keep the tongue in the mouth or the head upright) delivered automatically…

These two studies assessed adapted orientation technology for promoting correct direction and room identification during indoor traveling by persons with multiple (e.g., sensory, motor and intellectual/adaptive) disabilities. In Study I, two adults were included who had severe visual impairment or total blindness and deafness and used a wheelchair…