Three persons with multiple disabilities accessing environmental stimuli and asking for social contact through microswitch and VOCA technology

• Published in: Journal of intellectual disability research Vol. 52; no. 4; pp. 327 - 336
• Main Authors: Lancioni, G. E., O'Reilly, M. F., Singh, N. N., Sigafoos, J., Oliva, D., Severini, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2008; Blackwell Publishing; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Assistive Technology; Attention - physiology; Augmentative and Alternative Communication; Biological and medical sciences; Caregivers; Carers; Child; Children; Children & youth; Communication; Communication Aids for Disabled - psychology; Developmental disabilities; Direct access; Disabled Children - psychology; Disabled Children - rehabilitation; Disabled Persons - psychology; Disabled Persons - rehabilitation; Female; Humans; Intellectual Disability - psychology; Intellectual Disability - rehabilitation; Interpersonal Relationship; Male; Medical sciences; Microswitches; Miscellaneous; Multiple Disabilities; Multiply disabled people; Physical Stimulation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Quadriplegia - psychology; Quadriplegia - rehabilitation; Roles; Self image; Social Behavior; social contact; Social image; Stimuli; Treatments; VOCA; Human; Multiple handicap; multiple disabilities; microswitches; Treatment efficiency; Male; social contact; Computer mediated communication; Preadolescent; Case study; Treatment; Social interaction; Adolescent; VOCA

Background  Direct access to environmental stimuli and opportunity to ask for social contact/attention may be considered highly relevant objectives for persons with multiple disabilities. We assessed the possibility of enabling three of these persons (two children and one adolescent) to combine two...