A Technology System to Help People With Intellectual Disability and Blindness Find Room Destinations During Indoor Traveling: Case Series Study.

Background: People with severe or profound intellectual disability and visual impairment tend to have serious problems in orientation and mobility and need assistance for their indoor traveling. The use of technology solutions may be critically important to help them curb those problems and achieve a level of independence.

Objective: This study aimed to assess a new technology system to help people with severe to profound intellectual disability and blindness find room destinations during indoor traveling.

Technology for helping people with neuromotor, intellectual, and speech disabilities engage in leisure and communication activities: a proof-of-concept study.

We extended the assessment of our recently developed technology to help people with neuromotor, intellectual, and speech disabilities access (listen to) music, communicate with distant partners, and answer questions. The technology included a tablet (1) fitted with an Internet connection, a SIM card, WhatsApp Messenger, and MacroDroid application, and (2) interfaced with different pairs of response sensors. Six participants were included in the study, which was carried out according to a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants.

Enabling People With Intellectual and Sensory Disabilities to Trigger a Tablet's Delivery of Task Instructions by Walking to the Tablet: Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: People with intellectual and sensory or sensory-motor disabilities tend to have problems performing multistep tasks. To alleviate their problems, technological solutions have been developed that provide task-step instructions. Instructions are generally delivered at people's request (eg, as they touch an area of a computer or tablet screen) or automatically, at preset intervals.

Enabling people with intellectual and other disabilities to make verbal requests using cardboard chips with mini objects or pictures and a smartphone.

Objective: This study aimed to help six participants with intellectual disability combined with sensory and motor impairments to make verbal requests through the use of a technology system involving cardboard chips and a smartphone.

Method: The participants were divided into two groups of three based on whether they did or did not have visual skills. Each group was exposed to the intervention with the technology system according to a non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design.

Updated systematic-narrative review on communication intervention in Rett Syndrome: 2010-2022.

Due to loss of spoken language and resulting complex communication needs, people with Rett syndrome are obvious candidates for communication intervention. To advance evidence-based practice and guide future research efforts, we identified and summarized 16 communication intervention studies published since a previous 2009 review on this topic. Studies were summarized in terms of (a) participants, (b) dependent variables related to communication, (c) intervention characteristics, (d) outcomes, and (e) certainty of evidence.

A microswitch-aided program to enable people with extensive multiple disabilities to control environmental stimulation through different responses.

Objectives: This study assessed whether a simple technology-aided program (i.e., a program involving the use of microswitches linked to a smartphone) could be set up to enable people with motor, sensory and intellectual disabilities to control preferred environmental stimulation through two different response movements.

A Behavioral Approach to Treatment and Assessment of People with Disorders of Consciousness: The Response-contingent Stimulation Strategy.

Response-contingent stimulation is a behavioral strategy used to improve the situation of patients with disorders of consciousness. Such strategy involves the presentation of brief periods (e.g.

People with intellectual and multiple disabilities access leisure, communication, and daily activities a new technology-aided program.

People with mild to moderate intellectual or multiple disabilities may have serious difficulties in accessing leisure events, managing communication exchanges with distant partners, and performing functional daily activities. Recently, efforts were made to develop and assess technology-aided programs aimed at supporting people in all three areas (i.e.

People with intellectual and sensory disabilities can independently start and perform functional daily activities with the support of simple technology.

Objectives: The study assessed a smartphone-based technology system, which was designed to enable six participants with intellectual disability and sensory impairment to start and carry out functional activities through the use of reminders and verbal or pictorial instructions.

Methods: The technology system involved a Samsung Galaxy A22 with Android 11 operating system and four Philips Hue indoor motion sensors. Three to five activities were scheduled per day.

Technology-Aided Spatial Cues, Instructions, and Preferred Stimulation for Supporting People With Intellectual and Visual Disabilities in Their Occupational Engagement and Mobility: Usability Study.

Background: Persons with severe or profound intellectual disability and visual impairment tend to be passive and sedentary, and technology-aided intervention may be required to improve their condition without excessive demands on staff time.

Objective: This study aims to extend the assessment of technology-aided interventions for supporting functional occupational engagement and mobility in 7 people with intellectual disability and visual impairment and to use a technology system that is simpler and less expensive than those previously used.

Methods: The technology system involved a Samsung Galaxy A10, 4 Philips Hue indoor motion sensors, and 4 mini speakers.

Everyday Technology to Help People with Intellectual and Other Disabilities Access Stimulation via Functional Motor Responses and Improved Body Posture.

Purpose: This study assessed everyday technology to help eight participants with intellectual and sensory-motor disabilities access stimulation via functional arm/hand responses and improved body posture.

Methods: An ABABBBB design was used for each participant, with A representing baseline phases, B intervention phases in which arm/hand responses led to a 12-s stimulation, and B intervention phases in which the stimulation for arm/hand responses was conditional on an improved/correct torso and head posture. The technology involved a Samsung Galaxy A10 smartphone fitted with Google Assistant and MacroDroid, a mini voice-recording device, and a portable mini voice amplifier.

Behavioral intervention approaches for people with disorders of consciousness: a scoping review.

Purpose: This review was intended to provide an overall picture of work conducted during the last decade to assess the impact of behavioral intervention strategies on people with disorders of consciousness (i.e., comatose state, vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness, or minimally conscious state).

Music Stimulation for People with Disorders of Consciousness: A Scoping Review.

Music stimulation is considered to be a valuable form of intervention for people with severe brain injuries and prolonged disorders of consciousness (i.e., unresponsive wakefulness/vegetative state or minimally conscious state).

Use of technology to sustain mobility in older people with cognitive impairment and dementia: a scoping review.

Purpose: This paper provides a review of studies that evaluated technology devices to sustain various forms of mobility in older people with cognitive impairment or dementia and mobility problems (e.g., inability to ambulate or difficulties to orient with consequent failures to reach relevant destinations).

People with intellectual and visual disabilities access basic leisure and communication using a smartphone's Google Assistant and voice recording devices.

Purpose: This study assessed a new technology system to help six participants with intellectual and visual disabilities manage leisure engagement and communication with distant partners in an independent manner.

Methods: A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess the effects of the new technology system. This included a Samsung Galaxy J4 Plus smartphone with Android 9.

Overcoming Language Barriers between Interventionists and Immigrant Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study used a video prompting intervention to overcome language barriers between English-speaking trainers and Spanish-speaking immigrant parents of children with autism. Parents were taught instructional skills targeting independent dressing. A multiple baseline design across three families and a replication using an alternating treatments design with a fourth family were used to evaluate the effects of the intervention.

Persons with intellectual and multiple disabilities activate via non-verbal responses a smartphone's Google Assistant to access preferred stimulation.

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 were used to assess the effects of the program. The technology used for the program involved a Samsung J4 Plus smartphone with Android 9.

Extended smartphone-aided program to sustain daily activities, communication and leisure in individuals with intellectual and sensory-motor disabilities.

Background: Smartphone-aided programs were recently developed to support leisure engagement and communication with distant partners in individuals with special needs. This study evaluated an extended smartphone-aided program that supported daily activities in addition to communication and leisure in individuals with intellectual and visual or visuo-motor disabilities.

Method: Six participants were involved who had been exposed to an earlier smartphone-aided program supporting communication and leisure.

Everyday Technology to Support Leisure and Daily Activities in People with Intellectual and Other Disabilities.

: The study evaluated a smartphone-aided program to support independent access to leisure events and performance of daily activities in seven participants with moderate intellectual disability, four of whom also had severe hearing loss. : The program relied on the use of a Samsung Galaxy J4 Plus smartphone with Android 9.0 operating system.

Basic smartphone-aided communication and leisure for people with extensive neuro-motor impairment and absence of speech.

Background: Individuals with extensive neuro-motor impairment and lack of speech tend to remain passive and isolated, and to rely on others for communication and leisure. While their problems are known, only limited evidence is available about intervention tools that could help them curb those problems.

Objective: This study was aimed at upgrading and assessing a smartphone-based technology package, which was recently developed to help those individuals to independently engage in basic communication and leisure.

Smartphone technology for fostering goal-directed ambulation and object use in people with moderate Alzheimer's disease.

This study was aimed at assessing a smartphone-based intervention to help 11 individuals with moderate Alzheimer's disease and ambulation problems to manage goal-directed, walker-assisted ambulation and object use (i.e., to reach specific destinations and put away objects at those destinations independently).