Promoting adaptive behaviors by two girls with Rett syndrome through a microswitch-based program

Stasolla, Fabrizio; Caffò, Alessandro O.

doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2013.07.010

Cited by 60 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Furthermore, social validation raters endorsed the program more so when there was a contingency arranged between walking and accessing preferred stimulation. These findings are in line with the results of previous studies targeting adaptive behavior (Lancioni et al, , 2012; Stasolla & Caffò, ). The positive effects and greater acceptability of contingent versus noncontingent reinforcement are also consistent with Gabor, Fritz, Roath, Rothe, and Gourley (); Hanley, Piazza, Fisher, Contrucci, and Maglieri (), and Luczynski and Hanley (, ) who described similar findings in the context of treating socially mediated problem behavior, thus corroborating the generality of process and suggesting the following implications.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The impact of the intervention on indices of happiness is also consistent with previous research. Indices of happiness covaried with locomotion, suggesting that participants enjoyed actively participating in the sessions involving contingent reinforcement, as corroborated by previous works (Lancioni, Singh, O'Reilly, Sigafoos, Renna, et al, ; Stasolla & Caffò, ; Stasolla, Damiani, & Caffò, ). Moreover, the current approach (i.e., microswitch‐based program) could be integrated with other strategies previously used (i.e., Bobath's model and treadmill).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

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A microswitch‐based program for promoting initial ambulation responses: An evaluation with two girls with multiple disabilities

Stasolla

Caffò

Perilli³

et al. 2017

J of App Behav Analysis

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We assessed the use of a microswitch-based program for promoting ambulation responses by two children with multiple disabilities. The goals of the study were to: (a) evaluate the importance of the contingency between the target behavior (forward step) and the programmed consequence (preferred stimuli), (b) measure effects of the intervention on indices of happiness, and (c) assess the social validation of the procedure using 20 physiotherapists as external raters. The intervention involved the automatic delivery of preferred stimuli contingent on forward steps. Results showed that both participants improved their performance (forward steps and indices of happiness) during contingent reinforcement phases compared to baseline and noncontingent reinforcement phases. Moreover, physiotherapists rated the intervention as socially valid.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

A microswitch‐based program for promoting initial ambulation responses: An evaluation with two girls with multiple disabilities

Stasolla

Caffò

Perilli³

et al. 2017

J of App Behav Analysis

Self Cite

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“…Such techniques are routinely used in special education practice, such as to reduce challenging behavior in children with autism [27]. The techniques were also used in the studies that successfully created opportunities for girls with Rett syndrome to play music by activating switches [24,35,37]. (Note: It is possible to use the techniques, which are quite effective, without embracing the underlying theory, which is seen by some as problematic [5].…”

Section: User-centered Design For People With Disabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each system was deployed with a protocol that the parents and caregivers used to train the daughter on how to use the system, and that we used to evaluate whether the training was successful. The training and evaluation followed an operant-conditioning-like regimen as is often used in special education research (as in [24,35,36]). The evaluations were rigorous and quantitative to conclusively determine whether the daughters could successfully use the systems, and to avoid the problems sometimes seen in Rett syndrome research (discussed by [33]) such as over-reliance on anecdotal data or the lack of a baseline condition.…”

Section: Training and Evaluation Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The systems were evaluated to determine the extent to which they were learnable and usable and (following [24,35,37]) the extent to which the daughter's control of the media contributed to their happiness. Sessions were video-taped and analyzed for switch-hits, including type and latency of hit, and for indices of happiness and displeasure.…”

Section: Evaluation Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Designing for the "Universe of One"

Hornof

Whitman

Sutherland

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

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The needs and capabilities of a person with severe disabilities are often so specific that designing for the person is like designing for a "universe of one." This project addresses this problem for women with Rett syndrome, a disorder accompanied by severe cognitive, communication, and motor impairment. The research team adapted participatory design techniques to work with five such women, and their families, to design and evaluate new assistive technology for these women. The process suggests a class of media-playing devices that would be generally useful to women with Rett syndrome: systems that can load multiple audio or video segments; be activated by many different switches; and respond instantly to switch-hits. As well, the systems should permit a caregiver to set the start and end time of each segment, and how the system advances through a sequence of segments. The paper also discusses patterns that were observed when collaborating with the families. For example, parents shared longstanding but untried ideas for new assistive technology; and expressed a strong interest in any device that would help their daughters do things for themselves.

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Repeated Motor Training on Attention Reaching Skills and Stereotypies in Rett Syndrome

Fabio

Giannatiempo

Caprì

et al. 2022

Movement Disord Clin Pract

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BackgroundBackground: Few studies investigated the effect of a structured and specific training for upper limb motor skills allowing complex movements such as reaching and grasping. Objective Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of motor training on attention, reaching skills, and stereotypies in patients with Rett syndrome (RTT). Methods Methods: Twenty-eight participants with RTT underwent cognitive and motor assessment to evaluate attention, reaching skills and stereotypies with an ABABABA design: before training (pre-test phase), after a month of training (post-test phase 1), after a month of the second training phase (post-test phase 2) and at 1 month after the third training phase (post-test phase 3). In all three B phases, participants received 30 minutes of motor training for 5 days a week over a 1-month period. ResultsResults: Patients with RTT show long-term improvements in seconds of attention and reaching skills and decreases in the intensity of stereotypies. Conclusions Conclusions: This study suggests that motor abilities of participants with RTT can be improved with repeated, individual, well-structured training.Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe, genetic disorder with complex intellectual and multiple motor disabilities, affecting almost exclusively females. 1,2 Clinical expression of RTT is described through four progressive stages. [3][4][5][6] In the first stage (from 6-18 months), called early onset phase, development stalls or stops completely. [7][8][9][10] In the second stage, called rapid destructive phase, the child quickly loses purposeful hand movements and speech. In addition, breathing problems and stereotypic hand movements appears. [11][12][13] In the third stage, called plateau phase, the child's regression slows, seizures and movement problems are common at this stage. Many individuals with RTT spend most of their lives in this stage. [14][15][16][17][18] In the last stage, called motor deterioration phase, individuals may become stiff or lose muscle tone, and some become immobile. [19][20][21][22] As mentioned above, during development patients with RTT completely lose reaching and grasping movement, others retain a partial reach movement with a global grasp of the object and only few patients maintain a complete reach and precise grasp movement. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] In literature, there are few studies on structured and specific training for upper limb motor skills, and therefore, for the enabling and rehabilitation of elementary skills that allow complex movements such as reaching and grasping. In particular, the studies that have investigated this area applied only to music or hydrotherapy interventions, without specific training on reaching and grasping. 31,32 Other studies have shown that motor training in a constant, structured, and repeated way leads to improvements in the skills involved. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] Hence, the already available literature has indicated that the efficacy of each motor or cognitive intervention is high w...

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Promoting adaptive behaviors by two girls with Rett syndrome through a microswitch-based program

Cited by 60 publications

References 48 publications

A microswitch‐based program for promoting initial ambulation responses: An evaluation with two girls with multiple disabilities

A microswitch‐based program for promoting initial ambulation responses: An evaluation with two girls with multiple disabilities

Designing for the "Universe of One"

Repeated Motor Training on Attention Reaching Skills and Stereotypies in Rett Syndrome

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