An evaluation of the Wii Nunchuk as an alternative assistive device for people with intellectual and physical disabilities using switch controlled software

Many people with intellectual disabilities also have physical difficulties which prevent them from using standard computer control devices. Custom made alternative devices for those with special needs can be expensive and the low unit turnover makes the prospect unattractive to potential manufacturers. One solution is to explore the potential of devices used in contemporary gaming technology, such as the Nintendo Wii. The Wii Nunchuk has the potential to replace joystick functions with the advantages of not being surface bound and easier for some individuals to grasp. This study evaluated the feasibility of using the Nunchuk by comparing its performance as a switch with the participant's usual switch. Twenty three volunteers aged between 17 and 21 with intellectual and physical disabilities completed a Single Switch Performance Test using the new device and their familiar device. For most functions of the switch, there was no significant difference between the participants' performance using the Nunchuck and their familiar device. Additional analysis found that some participants' performance did improve whilst using the Nunchuck, but this was not significantly related to physical or cognitive ability. Those whose performance was better with the Nunchuk were more likely to hold it in the conventional way than were those who had better performance with their familiar device. This merits it being offered as a possible alternative to currently available switches for those with physical difficulties affecting their grip

Day occupation is associated with psychopathology for adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome

Background: Young adults with Down syndrome experience increased rates of emotional and behavioural problems compared with the general population. Most adolescents with Down syndrome living in Western Australia participate in sheltered employment as their main day occupation. Relationship between day occupation and changes in behaviour has not been examined. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore any relationship between post school day occupations and changes in the young person’s behaviour. Methods: The Down syndrome Needs Opinion Wishes database was used for case ascertainment of young adults aged 15 to 32 years with Down syndrome. Families of 118 young people in this population-based database completed questionnaires in 2004, 2009 and 2011. The questionnaires addressed both young person characteristics such as age, gender, presence of impairments, behaviour, functioning in activities of daily living, and family characteristics such as income and family functioning. Post-school day occupations in which the young people were participating included open and sheltered employment, training and day recreation programs. Change in behaviour of young adults who remained in the same post-school day occupation from 2009 to 2011 (n = 103) were examined in a linear regression model adjusting for confounding variables including age, gender, prior functioning and behaviour in 2004 and family income.Results: In comparison to those young adults attending open employment from 2009 to 2011, those attending day recreation programs were reported to experience worsening in behaviour both in the unadjusted (effect size -0.14, 95% CI -0.24, -0.05) and adjusted models (effect size -0.15, 95% CI -0.29, -0.01). Conclusions: We found that the behaviour of those participating in open employment improved compared to those attending other day occupations. Further examination of the direction of this association is required

Influence of the Environment on Participation in Social Roles for Young Adults with Down Syndrome

Background: The concept of disability is now understood as a result of the interaction between the individual, features related to impairment, and the physical and social environment. It is important to understand these environmental influences and how they affect social participation. The purpose of this study is to describe the social participation of young adults with Down syndrome and examine its relationship with the physical and social environment. Methods: Families ascertained from the Down syndrome ‘Needs Opinion Wishes’ database completed questionnaires during 2011. The questionnaires contained two parts, young person characteristics and family characteristics. Young adults’ social participation was measured using the Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H) and the influences of environmental factors were measured by the Measure of the Quality of the Environment (MQE). The analysis involved descriptive statistics and linear and logistic regression. Results: Overall, participation in daily activities was higher (mean 6.45) than in social roles (mean 5.17) (range 0 to 9). When the physical and/or social environment was reported as a facilitator, compared to being no influence or a barrier, participation in social roles was greater (coef 0.89, 95%CI 0.28, 1.52, coef 0.83, 95%CI 0.17, 1.49, respectively). The relationships between participation and both the physical (coef 0.60, 95% CI -0.40, 1.24) and social (coef 0.20, 95%CI -0.47, 0.87) environments were reduced when age, gender, behavior and functioning in ADL were taken into account. Conclusion: We found that young adults’ participation in social roles was influenced more by the physical environment than by the social environment, providing a potentially modifiable avenue for intervention

Executive difficulties in Developmental Coordination Disorder: Methodological issues and future directions

Motor skills and cognition have often been studied separately, but there is increasing understanding of the close relationship between these abilities over development. Motor coordination difficulties are central to the diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), and recent evidence suggests that certain cognitive processes, known as ‘executive functions’, may be affected in individuals with this neurodevelopmental disorder. In this article, we review the research concerning executive functions in DCD, considering behavioural, neuroimaging and questionnaire studies of a range of processes. We highlight methodological issues relating to our current understanding of executive functioning difficulties in DCD, including problems with interpretation of results based on the tasks used. We suggest future directions for research in this area, including the relationship of laboratory research to interventions within ‘real-world’ contexts

Motor skill assessment of children: Is there an association between performance-based, child-report, and parent-report measures of children's motor skills?

Client-centered practice requires therapists to actively seek the perspectives of children and families. Several assessment tools are available to facilitate this process. However, when evaluating motor skill performance, therapists typically concentrate on performance-based assessment. To improve understanding of the information provided by the different approaches, the study investigated correlations between performance-based, child-report, and parent-report measures of children's motor skill performance. A sample of convenience of 38 children 812 years of age with no history of motor or intellectual impairments and their parents was recruited from Victoria, Australia. Scores for the BruininksOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (performance-based, administered by a therapist), Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (child report), and Movement Assessment Battery for Children Checklist (parent report) were analyzed using Spearman's rho correlation. Several significant moderate-to-large correlations were found between scores for parent-report and scores for performance-based assessments, while few significant correlations were found between scores for child report and scores for the other two measures. The results suggest that children offer a unique perspective which should be integrated with other sources of information to gain a more holistic perspective of their motor skill performance

Induction of Cell Death by Magnetic Actuation of Nickel Nanowires Internalized by Fibroblasts

Magnetic nanomaterials with multimodal functionalities have emerged as a versatile platform for biomedical applications that range from basic cellular interrogation to clinical nanomedicine. In this work, we have prepared electrodeposited ferromagnetic nickel nanowires for efficient internalization into 3T3 fibroblasts. Agitation of the nanowires by a low external field induced cell death, as assessed by MTT viability assays. The response of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene expression of the fibroblasts to nanowire-mediated cellular manipulation was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). These nanowires exhibited significant potential as therapeutic and interrogative platforms for biomedicine