Development and Evaluation of an Assistive Prompting System for People with Traumatic Brain Injury

Cognitive deficits in executive functioning are among the most frequent sequelae after traumatic brain injury (TBI) at all levels of severity. Due to these functional deficits in cognition, individuals with TBI often experience difficulties in performing instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), especially those IADLs that involve a sequence of goal-directed actions. We obtained updated information on the use of assistive technology for cognition (ATC) through a survey study among twenty-nine participants with TBI. Results highlighted the needs to support the development and evaluation of ATC in assisting multi-step tasks. Cooking tasks were selected as a representative for they are cognitively demanding and have been identified essential for living independently. With the recent advance in sensing and smart home technologies, it’s possible to provide context-aware prompts with minimal user inputs. However, limited information is known regarding what types of context-aware prompts are really needed by people with TBI in completing cooking tasks. We compared the effectiveness and usability of current available prompting methods (e.g. paper-based prompting method and user-controlled method) among ten individuals with TBI in their home kitchens. We categorized the nature of problems faced by end-users with both prompting methods in cooking tasks and proposed relevant context-aware solutions. A test-bed Cueing Kitchen with sensing and prompting elements was developed to address these identified needs and to evaluate the feasibility of context-aware ATC interventions in assisting people with TBI with kitchen activities. Sixteen individuals with TBI participated in the study. Results showed that comparing to the conventional user-controlled method, the automatic method decreased the amount of external assistance required by participants, received higher ratings in perceived ease-of-use, and was helpful for decreasing user stress levels. However, the user-controlled method showed strengths in offering participants more flexibility and control on the timing of prompts. The contributions from this dissertation not only developed a context-aware prompting testbed and evaluated the feasibility of an automatic system, but also advanced the guidelines and potential solutions for future development of assistive prompting technology for people with cognitive impairments in sequential tasks

EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF USING POINT OF VIEW VIDEO MODELING ON IMPROVING SELF-CARE SKILLS OF A STUDENT WITH AUTISM

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using point of view video modeling intervention strategy on improving the self-care skills of a student with autism. The target skills were handwashing and toothbrushing skills. A single-subject ABA design was used in this study. Data was collected using mixed-method approach. The intervention lasted for six weeks. The results of this study indicated that point of view video modeling is an effective instructional tool to improve handwashing and toothbrushing skills for a student with autism. Moreover, the participant was able to generalize handwashing and toothbrushing skills to two different settings. Implications of this study include the importance of utilizing point-of-view video modeling in the daily classroom practice to teach students with autism self-care skills

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

Expert perspectives on using mainstream mobile technology for school-age children who require augmentative and alternative communcation (AAC): a Policy Delphi study

Despite legislation in the U.S.A requiring the use of assistive technology in special education, there remains an underutilization of technology-based speech intervention for young students who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The purpose of this Policy Delphi study was to address three guiding research questions that relate to the feasibility of using mainstream mobile technology, facilitative actions, and stakeholder roles for implementation and utilization of AAC in elementary school settings. Data were collected in two rounds of questionnaires given to experts in special education, assistive technology and speech and language pathology, with experience in AAC. Round 1 included 19 participants, 14 of whom also completed the Round 2 questionnaire. The results indicated that a very strong case can be made that mainstream mobile devices have several advantages over traditional AAC systems, not only in their affordability, but also transparency and social acceptance by providing an ideal medium for inclusion in mainstream settings. A challenge that confronts AAC innovations is the tendency to focus on the technology instead of pedagogical, social and therapeutic goals. Until a perfect AAC system becomes available for mainstream mobile devices that meet individuals’ communicative, educational and physical needs and personal preferences, it is apparent that multimodality will continue to be the model. The utilization of mainstream mobile technology for AAC necessitates certain facilitative actions and stakeholder responsibilities. Team collaboration is essential in supporting AAC use and, when applicable, facilitating the inclusion and mainstreaming of students who use AAC in the general education setting

Using Mobile Technology to Improve Autonomy in Students with Intellectual Disabilities in Postsecondary Education Programs

Nationwide there are approximately 200 postsecondary education programs that provide inclusive college experiences for young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) (Grigal & Hart, 2010). To navigate college campuses, the greater surrounding community, and ultimately competitive employment, young adults with ID need literacy, communication, and navigation skills. The purpose of these two studies was to investigate the effects of mobile technology to improve the autonomy of students with ID enrolled in a postsecondary education program. The purpose of experiment I was to examine the effectiveness of three different communication applications (i.e., text, audio, and video) to send and receive text messages (i.e., iMessage, Heytell, and Tango) for college-aged students with ID. Four students enrolled in a PSE program at a large university in the Southeastern United States participated in experiment I. An alternating treatments design was used to examine if there were differences in the acquisition and communicative understanding of each application. The results indicated that each participant learned how to send and receive text messages using multiple applications. Furthermore, all students improved the quality of communication including grammar and mechanics, relevance and comprehension, and professionalism. Experiment II examined the effectiveness of a navigation application for three college-aged students with ID also enrolled in a PSE program. Using a withdrawal/reversal ABAB design, students used the Apple iPhone and the Heads Up Navigator application to navigate to novel locations independently. First, students were given a copy of the university map during the baseline phase to walk to an unfamiliar location on campus. During the mobile application phase, students were taught how to operate and use a mobile device and navigation application (i.e., Heads Up Navigator) to navigate to unfamiliar places. Results from Experiment II indicated all students improved navigation skills with 100% nonoverlapping data which indicated a highly effective intervention. Visual analysis procedures were used to evaluate the intervention effects of both studies. Findings from the studies include implications for PSE and adult participants, the viability of mobile technology as an effective tool, and using digital tools to teach leisure and work skills. Recommendations for future research and practice are discussed