Two Women with Multiple Disabilities Sharing An Acoustic Orientation System and Traveling Together to Indoor Destinations

Abstract

This study assessed whether two women with total blindness and profound intellectual disability could share an acoustic orientation system and travel together simultaneously to common indoor destinations to perform occupational and vocational activities. The orientation system provided acoustic cues which indicated the direction to the destinations. Analysis of data indicated that the women were successful in sharing the system and could reach the destinations independently.

Engagement in Cooperative and Individual Tasks: Assessing the Performance and Preferences of Persons with Multiple Disabilities

“…Programs for persons with multiple disabilities are generally aimed at developing engagement in individual activities because these persons are considered to be unlikely to achieve cooperative skills and seem largely withdrawn or not interested in physical and social contact with peers (Lancioni & Mantini, 1998). Yet this study found not only that persons with multiple disabilities may be taught to engage cooperatively in tasks with clearly discriminable response components, but that they may prefer forms of cooperative engagement to individual engagement (cf.…”

“…The performance of tasks has traditionally been conceived as an individual form of engagement. Some attention has also been devoted to the possibility of enabling persons with multiple disabilities to work together with their peers to achieve forms of parallel engagement and physical contact (see Lancioni & Mantini, 1998;Lancioni, Oliva, Andreoni, & Pirani, 1995). This development stems from the realization that these persons live in a condition of isolation that can reduce their sensory input and social opportunities and may prefer to work together with peers and, in any case, should have the opportunity to express their preferences.The aim of the study reported here was twofold: (1) to teach four persons with multiple disabilities cooperative engagement (in addition to individual engagement) in useful occupational-vocational tasks and (2) to assess the persons' performance in and preference between the two engagement situations.…”