title: Assisting people with disabilities to actively improve their collaborative physical activities with Nintendo Wii Balance Boards by controlling environmental stimulation.
abstract: The latest researches have adopted software technology to modify the Nintendo Wii Balance Board functionality and used it to enable two people with developmental disabilities to actively perform physical activities. This study extended the latest research of the Wii Balance Board application to assess whether four people (two groups) with developmental disabilities would be able to actively improve their physical activities collaboration--walking to the designated location following simple instructions, by controlling their favorite environmental stimulation through using three Nintendo Wii Balance Boards. We employed an A-B-A-B design, with A represented the baseline and B represented intervention phases. Data showed that both groups of participants significantly increased their collaborative target response (collaboratively performing designated physical activities) by activating the control system to produce their preferred environmental stimulation during the intervention phases. Practical and developmental implications of the findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 970, Taiwan, ROC. schee@mail.ndhu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Ching-Hsiang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Ling-Che
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ching-Tien
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Shih
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D016287:Computer Peripherals; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*