Enabling two adolescents with multiple disabilities to choose among environmental stimuli through different procedural and technological approaches.
Two single-case studies were carried out using different procedural and technological approaches to enable two adolescents with multiple disabilities to choose among environmental stimuli. Study I focused on replicating a recently developed procedure, which relied on samples of the auditory stimuli available as cues for choice responses. Study II assessed a new procedural and technical setup relying on the use of pictorial representations of the stimuli available as cues for choice responses. The auditory samples and the pictorial representations were presented through computer systems. The participants' choice responses relied on microswitches connected to the computer systems. The data of Study I fully supported previous findings with the same procedural approach. The participant learned to choose preferred stimuli and bypass nonpreferred ones. The data of Study II showed that the participant learned to concentrate his choice. responses on a few stimuli, suggesting that these stimuli were actually preferred and that responding was purposeful. Implications of the results were discussed.
Department of Psychology, University of Bari, Via Quintino Sella 268, 70100 Bari, Italy. g.lancioni@psico.uniba.it
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Lancioni
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Antonucci
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De Pace
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O'Reilly
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Singh
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Sigafoos
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Oliva
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D001766:Blindness / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D015897:Comorbidity; D003463:Cues; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012931:Social Environment; D049250:Speech Recognition Software; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted