Background: Some adults with intellectual disabilities do not acquire oral feeding skills and are dependent on gastrostomy tube supplementation. Methods: Two adults with intellectual and multiple disabilities received intervention for oral consumption during daily meals (standardised food and liquid quantities, individualised procedural…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a popular augmentative and alternative communication intervention for individuals with developmental disabilities that includes six, sequential phases of instruction. We systematically reviewed published and unpublished single-case PECS studies for details about the percentage of participants…

Music is motivational, accessible and engaging for individuals with learning disabilities. Several systematic reviews have addressed the effects of music activity on people with learning disabilities; however, none has specifically reviewed the use of musical activity with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. This review aimed…

Approximately 50 years of research on rapid toilet training (RTT) first used by Azrin and Foxx (1971) indicates RTT is effective for teaching individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) independent toileting routines. Professionals focused on toilet training may be familiar with RTT procedures but be less informed about the…

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…

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have increased risk for developing challenging behavior. One particularly dangerous topography of challenging behavior is rapid eating. Rapid eating can lead to increased risk for choking and obesity as well as negatively impact social interactions during mealtimes (Anglesea et al.,…

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…

This study assessed a technology-aided program (monitoring responding, and ensuring preferred stimulation and encouragements) for promoting physical activity with 11 participants with severe/profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. Each participant was provided with an exercise device (e.g. a static bicycle and a stepper) and exposed to…

Background: New technology may stimulate active leisure activities for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). We conducted a study of an interactive ball that responded to gross body movement, focus of attention, and vocalisations of users with PIMD. The aim was to increase alertness and body movement and elicit more…

Paraprofessionals report spending a substantial amount of time addressing challenging behavior in a range of school environments, yet identify behavioral intervention as a high-priority training area. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to systematically review and summarize single-case intervention studies involving paraprofessional-delivered…