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,…

Objectives: Caring for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be gratifying as well as stressful. Professional staff employed as caregivers often report compromised mental and physical wellbeing due to the stressful nature of working with clients who exhibit aggressive and destructive behaviors.…

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…

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…

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…

This study extended the assessment of a newly developed computer-aided telephone system with two participants (adults) who presented with blindness or severe visual impairment and motor or motor and intellectual disabilities. For each participant, the study was carried out according to an ABAB design, in which the A represented baseline phases and…

New generation antipsychotic (NGA) drugs introduced to the US market after clozapine (aripiprazole, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone) are frequently used in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). However, there is very limited research to fully establish evidence-based or personalized medicine approaches…