Microswitch-aided programs to support physical exercise or adequate ambulation in persons with multiple disabilities.

Three microswitch-aided programs were assessed in three single-case studies to enhance physical exercise or ambulation in participants with multiple disabilities. Study I was aimed at helping a woman who tended to have the head bending forward and the arms down to exercise a combination of appropriate head and arms movements. Study II was aimed at promoting ambulation continuity with a man who tended to have ambulation breaks.

Post-coma persons with multiple disabilities use assistive technology for their leisure engagement and communication.

Background: Interventions for post-coma persons, who have emerged from a minimally conscious state but present with extensive neuro-motor impairment and lack of or minimal verbal skills, need to promote occupation and communication through the use of assistive technology.

Objective: These two studies were aimed at assessing two technology-aided programs to promote leisure engagement and communication for three post-coma participants with multiple disabilities.

Methods: Study I assessed a program to allow a woman and a man with extensive neuro-motor impairment and lack of speech to switch on music and videos, make requests to caregivers, and send messages to (communicate with) relevant partners and receive messages from those partners.

People with multiple disabilities learn to engage in occupation and work activities with the support of technology-aided programs.

These two studies were aimed at assessing technology-aided programs to help persons with multiple disabilities engage in basic occupation or work activities. Specifically, Study I focused on teaching two participants (an adolescent and an adult) with low vision or total blindness, severe/profound intellectual disabilities, and minimal object interaction to engage in constructive object-manipulation responses. The technology monitored their responses and followed them with brief stimulation periods automatically.

Technology-based intervention programs to promote stimulation control and communication in post-coma persons with different levels of disability.

Post-coma persons in a minimally conscious state and with extensive motor impairment or emerging/emerged from such a state, but affected by lack of speech and motor impairment, tend to be passive and isolated. A way to help them develop functional responding to control environmental events and communication involves the use of intervention programs relying on assistive technology. This paper provides an overview of technology-based intervention programs for enabling the participants to (a) access brief periods of stimulation through one or two microswitches, (b) pursue stimulation and social contact through the combination of a microswitch and a sensor connected to a speech generating device (SGD) or through two SGD-related sensors, (c) control stimulation options through computer or radio systems and a microswitch, (d) communicate through modified messaging or telephone systems operated via microswitch, and (e) control combinations of leisure and communication options through computer systems operated via microswitch.

Technology to help persons with extensive neuro-motor impairment and lack of speech with their leisure occupation and communication.

These two studies were aimed at extending the assessment of technology-aided programs to enhance leisure occupation or communication with persons with extensive neuro-motor impairment and lack of speech. Specifically, Study I implemented the program for leisure occupation with two post-stroke patients. Study II implemented the program for communication with two persons affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Extending technology-aided leisure and communication programs to persons with spinal cord injury and post-coma multiple disabilities.

Purpose: These two studies extended technology-aided programs to promote leisure and communication opportunities to a man with cervical spinal cord injury and a post-coma man with multiple disabilities.

Method: The studies involved the use of ABAB designs, in which A and B represented baseline and intervention phases, respectively. The programs focused on enabling the participants to activate songs, videos, requests, text messages, and telephone calls.

Automatic feedback to promote safe walking and speech loudness control in persons with multiple disabilities: two single-case studies.

Objective: Assessing automatic feedback technologies to promote safe travel and speech loudness control in two men with multiple disabilities, respectively.

Method: The men were involved in two single-case studies. In Study I, the technology involved a microprocessor, two photocells, and a verbal feedback device.

Technology-aided programs to enable persons with multiple disabilities to choose among environmental stimuli using a smile or a tongue response.

Persons with multiple disabilities, including pervasive motor impairment, may have problems controlling even small responses (e.g., vocal emissions, finger movements, or prolonged eyelid closures) within time-sensitive situations, such as those involved in choice programs.

Further evaluation of a telephone technology for enabling persons with multiple disabilities and lack of speech to make phone contacts with socially relevant partners.

This study assessed whether a girl and a woman with multiple disabilities could (a) make phone contacts with relevant partners through a special telephone technology, and (b) enjoy their telephone-mediated communication with them. The technology involved a net-book computer, a global system for mobile communication modem (GSM), an optic microswitch, and specific software. The technology was programmed to present the names of the partners available for contact, and the participants could choose at each presentation sequence the one they wanted to contact with a simple microswitch response.

Two men with multiple disabilities carry out an assembly work activity with the support of a technology system.

Objective: To assess whether two persons with multiple disabilities could learn a work activity (i.e., assembling trolley wheels) with the support of a technology system.

A man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis uses a mouth pressure microswitch to operate a text messaging system with a word prediction function.

Objective: To assess whether a man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis could benefit from using (a) a mouth pressure microswitch instead of an optic microswitch activated via head movement and (b) a special word prediction function within a text messaging system.

Method: Initially, both microswitches were used for operating the text messaging system, and their effectiveness and the man's preference were assessed. Subsequently, only the mouth microswitch was used and the messaging system was provided with a word prediction function.

Persons with multiple disabilities increase adaptive responding and control inadequate posture or behavior through programs based on microswitch-cluster technology.

Study I used typical microswitch-cluster programs to promote adaptive responding (i.e., object manipulation) and reduce inappropriate head or head-trunk forward leaning with a boy and a woman with multiple disabilities.

Post-coma persons emerging from a minimally conscious state with multiple disabilities make technology-aided phone contacts with relevant partners.

Post-coma individuals emerging from a minimally conscious state with multiple disabilities may enjoy contact with relevant partners (e.g., family members and friends), but may not have easy access to them.

Three non-ambulatory adults with multiple disabilities exercise foot-leg movements through microswitch-aided programs.

This study assessed the use of microswitch-aided programs to help three non-ambulatory adults with multiple disabilities exercise foot-leg responses. Those responses served to activate a largely neglected part of the participants' body, with possibly positive physical implications (e.g.

Supporting daily activities and indoor travel of persons with moderate Alzheimer's disease through standard technology resources.

These two studies were aimed at evaluating standard technology resources for supporting activity and travel among patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, Study I assessed a pictorial instruction program relying on the use of a portable computer and a commercially available and inexpensive video editing software for supporting the performance of daily activities with three patients. Study II assessed the indoor travel performance of four patients (i.

Video prompting versus other instruction strategies for persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Background/aim: Two studies assessed the effectiveness of video prompting as a strategy to support persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer's disease in performing daily activities.

Methods: In study I, video prompting was compared to an existing strategy relying on verbal instructions. In study II, video prompting was compared to another existing strategy relying on static pictorial cues.

Walker devices and microswitch technology to enhance assisted indoor ambulation by persons with multiple disabilities: three single-case studies.

These three single-case studies assessed the use of walker devices and microswitch technology for promoting ambulation behavior among persons with multiple disabilities. The walker devices were equipped with support and weight lifting features. The microswitch technology ensured that brief stimulation followed the participants' ambulation responses.

A voice-sensitive microswitch for a man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and pervasive motor impairment.

Objective: To assess a voice-sensitive microswitch for a 67-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who had difficulties continuing to use an optic microswitch through small chin movements.

Method: The man used the microswitches in combination with a computer-aided program to (a) access preferred songs and videos or make requests, and (b) operate a messaging system to communicate with his wife and sons. To assess the man's performance with the two microswitches, we alternated sessions with one microswitch with sessions with the other.

A computer-aided telephone system to enable five persons with Alzheimer's disease to make phone calls independently.

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 which the technology was not available, and continued with intervention in which the technology was used.

Persons with multiple disabilities use forehead and smile responses to access or choose among technology-aided stimulation events.

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 microswitches. The present two studies assessed non-conventional response-microswitch solutions for three of those participants.

New camera-based microswitch technology to monitor small head and mouth responses of children with multiple disabilities.

Objective: Assessing a new camera-based microswitch technology, which did not require the use of color marks on the participants' face.

Method: Two children with extensive multiple disabilities participated. The responses selected for them consisted of small, lateral head movements and mouth closing or opening.

Technology-aided programs to support exercise of adaptive head responses or leg-foot and hands responses in children with multiple disabilities.

Objective: Assessing the effectiveness of technology-aided programs to help three children with multiple disabilities exercise adaptive head or leg-foot and hands responses independently.

Method: The response selected for the two children included in Study I was head rotation (i.e.

Technology-aided leisure and communication opportunities for two post-coma persons emerged from a minimally conscious state and affected by multiple disabilities.

This study assessed technology-aided programs for helping two post-coma persons, who had emerged from a minimally conscious state and were affected by multiple disabilities, to (a) engage with leisure stimuli and request caregiver's procedures, (b) send out and listen to text messages for communication with distant partners, and (c) combine leisure engagement and procedure requests with text messaging within the same sessions. The program for leisure engagement and procedure requests relied on the use of a portable computer with commercial software, and a microswitch for the participants' response. The program for text messaging communication involved the use of a portable computer, a GSM modem, a microswitch for the participants' response, and specifically developed software.

Two persons with multiple disabilities use camera-based microswitch technology to control stimulation with small mouth and eyelid responses.

Background: A camera-based microswitch technology was recently developed to monitor small facial responses of persons with multiple disabilities and allow those responses to control environmental stimulation. This study assessed such a technology with 2 new participants using slight variations of previous responses.

Method: The technology involved a computer with a CPU using a 2GHz clock, a USB video camera with 16-mm lens, and special software.

Two women with multiple disabilities communicate with distant partners via a special text messaging system.

This study extended the research on a special text messaging system, which allows persons with multiple disabilities to (a) write and send messages to distant partners and (b) have messages from those partners read out to them. The study involved two women with multiple disabilities (including blindness or minimal residual vision). The system comprised a net-book computer, a mobile communication modem, and an input microswitch, and relied on special keyboards (not used before) to allow the women to write their messages.