People with severe-to-profound intellectual disabilities often lack meaningful interactions with others. Communication partners need to be skilled in identifying and responding to often-subtle behaviours. One method of facilitating interaction is the use of sensory-based stimuli.
Method:
This study measured the impact of sensory-based stimuli paired with behaviour chain interruptions for three participants in an alternating treatment design using a novel intervention, SensEngage. Measurements included behaviours previously identified as indicating person engagement, self-engagement, happiness as well as participants’ use of potential communicative acts (PCAs).
Results:
The results showed increased person engagement and happiness in the SensEngage condition compared to the non-sensory condition for all three participants. An increased use of PCAs and decrease in self-engagement were observed for two participants.
Conclusions:
SensEngage appears to positively impact person engagement, happiness, PCAs and self-engagement for people with severe-to-profound intellectual disabilities.
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