People with intellectual and sensory disabilities can independently start and perform functional daily activities with the support of simple technology

Abstract

Objectives The study assessed a smartphone-based technology system, which was designed to enable six participants with intellectual disability and sensory impairment to start and carry out functional activities through the use of reminders and verbal or pictorial instructions. Methods The technology system involved a Samsung Galaxy A22 with Android 11 operating system and four Philips Hue indoor motion sensors. Three to five activities were scheduled per day. At the time at which an activity was due, the system provided the participant with a reminder followed by the verbal or pictorial instruction for the initial part of the first response (e.g., “Go to the bathroom and take the dirty towels”). The instruction would be available (repeated) until the participant responded to it and, in so doing, activated a sensor. Sensor activation caused the presentation of the instruction for the second part of the same (first) response (e.g., “Put the towels in the laundry machine”). The same process occurred for each of the responses involved in the activity. The system was introduced according to nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs across participants. Results During baseline, the mean percentage of activities the participants started independently was below 7; the mean frequency of correct responses per activity was below 0.5 (out of a maximum possible of 8). During the intervention (i.e., with the support of the technology system), the mean percentage and mean frequency values increased to nearly 100 and 8, respectively. Conclusions The data suggest that the aforementioned technology system may enable people with intellectual disability and sensory impairment to start and carry out functional activities independent of staff.