title: Two women with multiple disabilities communicate with distant partners via a special text messaging system.
abstract: This study extended the research on a special text messaging system, which allows persons with multiple disabilities to (a) write and send messages to distant partners and (b) have messages from those partners read out to them. The study involved two women with multiple disabilities (including blindness or minimal residual vision). The system comprised a net-book computer, a mobile communication modem, and an input microswitch, and relied on special keyboards (not used before) to allow the women to write their messages. One of the keyboards included (a) two rows of 10 and 11 keys, respectively, reporting the 21 basic letters of the Italian alphabet arranged in alphabetical order and marked with Braille labels and (b) a space bar and an enlarged back/erase key. The other keyboard had Braille cues on the initial, central, and final keys of the letter rows. Moreover, most function keys were covered (cut out from the usable space). Both women learned to use the messaging system with the special keyboards successfully (i.e., to write their messages, to send them out, and to listen to incoming messages). These findings are analyzed in relation to preliminary data with the system and the need to adapt the writing technology to the participants' characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy. giulio.lancioni@uniba.it
authors.forename: Giulio E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Lancioni
authors.forename: Mark F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Nirbhay N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sigafoos
authors.forename: Vanessa A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Doretta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alberti
authors.forename: Luigina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carrella
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D003147:Communication Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016287:Computer Peripherals; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D060145:Text Messaging; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000534:rehabilitation; D055815:Young Adult