Microswitch Technology for Enabling Self-Determined Responding in Children with Profound and Multiple Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

We reviewed 18 studies reporting on the use of microswitch technology to enable self-determined responding in children with profound and multiple disabilities. Identified studies that met pre-determined inclusion criteria were summarized in terms of (a) participants, (b) experimental design, (c) microswitches and procedures used, and (d) main results. The 18 studies formed three groups based on whether the microswitch technology was primarily intended to enable the child to (a) access preferred stimuli (7 studies), (b) choose between stimuli (6 studies), or (c) recruit attention/initiate social interaction (5 studies). The results of these studies were consistently positive and support the use of microswitch technology in educational programs for children with profound and multiple disabilities as a means to impact their environment and interact with others. Implications for delivery of augmentative and alternative communication intervention to children with profound and multiple disabilities are discussed.

What We Write about When We Write About AAC: The Past 30 Years of Research and Future Directions

“…There is a growing international awareness that AAC can have a powerful impact for people with a wide range of disability types (Beukelman et al, 2015;Ganz, 2015;Tate & Happ, 2014;Roche, Sigafoos, Lancioni, O'Reilly, & Green, 2015;Romski, Sevcik, Barton-Hulsey & Whitmore, 2015). Figure 4 shows that the research published in AAC has given much greater attention to those with developmental disabilities (83%) than those with acquired disabilities (17%), with the greatest number of studies focused on individuals with multiple disabilities (25%) and cerebral palsy (22%).…”

“…Although dramatic progress has been made in this area, it continues to be an area that has required ongoing vigilance and advocacy to promote access to needed assistive technologies (Department for Education, UK, 2013; Patient Provider Communication, 2015). The breadth and depth of the papers that are part of this 30th anniversary celebration make it clear that much progress has been made, but that many critical questions remain; these are well documented in the papers by Beukelman et al (2015); Ganz (2015); Kent-Walsh et al (2015); Roche et al (2015); Romski et al (2015); Schlosser and Koul (2015); and Smith (2015). As we depart our role as editors, we encourage future authors to ''dream big'' and to conduct the research that addresses the key clinical and intervention issues that face the field of AAC.…”

“…Williams, 2004), as well as clinicians, educators, and researchers (Anderson, Balandin, & Clendon, 2011;Broberg, Ferm, & Thunberg, 2012;Calculator, 2013;Fried-Oken, Beukelman, & Hux, 2012;Hunt-Berg, 2005;. The papers published in the September and December issues of the AAC journal as a special 30th anniversary series provide clear evidence of the substantial gains in the field over the past 30 years in a wide range of areas, including (a) early intervention (Romski, Sevcik, Barton-Hulsey, & Whitmore, 2015), (b) AAC intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (Ganz, 2015), (c) the language development of individuals who require aided communication (Smith, 2015), (d) the use of visual scene displays for people with aphasia (Beukelman, Hux, Dietz, McKelvey, & Weissling, 2015), (e) microswitch technology for children with profound and multiple disabilities (Roche, Sigafoos, Lancioni, O'Reilly, & Green, 2015), (f) communication partner instruction (Kent-Walsh, Murza, Malani, & Binger, 2015 [this issue]), and (g) speech output technologies for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (Schlosser & Koul, 2015 [this issue]). Although the use of AAC strategies enjoys a long rich history (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013;Zangari, Lloyd, & Vicker, 1994), organized research to investigate strategies to support the use of AAC, and publications to document this work, are a much more recent endeavor (Beukelman, 1997;Mirenda, 1998).…”

Innovations for Supporting Communication: Opportunities and Challenges for People with Complex Communication Needs

“…Many individuals who use AAC have additional motor and sensory impairments so that their ability to select symbols, pictures, or letters is significantly limited. Traditionally, motor difficulties have been addressed through the development of increasingly sophisticated switches, sensitive to even the most minimal of movements [27], while auditory input has been used to bypass visual impairments [13]. Despite the extensive developments in these areas, finding a reliable, efficient and accurate access method continues to be difficult for many individuals who have extremely limited motor control.…”

A wearable sensing framework for improving personal and oral hygiene for people with developmental disabilities

“…Profound and multiple disabilities (PMD) is another related condition where an individual loses intellectual abilities along with hearing and/or visual impairment, significant health issues and motor impairments. Children with PMD generally cannot speak and can only rely on gestures or facial expressions to communicate [4].…”