Smartphone-Based Technology to Support Functional Occupation and Mobility in People with Intellectual Disability and Visual Impairment

Evaluating a Low-Cost Technology to Enable People with Intellectual Disability or Psychiatric Disorders to Initiate and Perform Functional Daily Activities

“…First, the data of this study represent a new demonstration that it is possible to support the daily activity engagement of people with intellectual disabilities and/or psychiatric disorders through very simple technology, thus adding to the previous evidence in the field [21][22][23][24]. The new aspect of these data is that (a) the number of activities programmed during the day was rather large (larger than that reported by previous studies [19]), and (b) the participants were not only assisted in carrying out the activities but also at starting them at the appropriate time independently [37].…”

“…In other studies, the participant was not required to operate the device to get the instructions (e.g., [21][22][23][24]) in that the instructions were automatically presented by the device at preset time intervals. The length of the interval between each given instruction (i.e., separating one instruction from the next) was decided by a member of the staff or a caregiver based on his/her knowledge/expectation of the time needed for the participant to carry out the instruction-related step.…”

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

“…Anecdotal reports suggest that the participants showed behaviors such as smiles and vocalizations in connection with the preferred stimulation events. Third, the technology system used in this study represents a relatively simple and practical tool compared with the systems used previously (ie, systems that relied on specifically built technology devices or on clusters of smartphones, mini speakers, and light sources) [11,16,22]). The cost of the present technology system may be estimated at about US $600 (ie, approximately US $150 for the Samsung smartphone, US $200 for the 4 Philips Hue sensors, US $100 for the 4 mini speakers, and US $150 for the Philips Hue Bridge, the Philips Hue smart bulb, and the 4G Long-Term Evolution Wi-Fi router).…”

“…Passivity and sedentariness may become even more serious when people present with a combination of intellectual disability and visual impairment [7][8][9][10][11][12]. To modify this negative situation, efforts are required to design intervention strategies suitable for promoting occupational engagement and mobility (ie, indoor walking), that is, for (1) providing people with a chance of meaningful actions and (2) increasing their opportunities for physical exercise and environmental stimulation [13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

“…To be effective, intervention strategies are expected to support people in critical areas such as (1) the appropriate use of objects (eg, taking and putting away objects at the right places), (2) spatial orientation for moving from one place to another (eg, to reach and use the objects), and (3) engagement motivation (eg, willingness to walk, orient to the cues, and use objects appropriately) [13,15,[20][21][22]. To ensure sufficient support in the aforementioned areas and promote functional occupation and mobility independent of staff, intervention strategies need to rely on the support of technology [11,16,[22][23][24][25].…”