scholarly journals Evaluating and Enhancing Communication Skills in Four Adolescents with Profound and Multiple Disabilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Laura Roche
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Multiple Disabilities ◽  
Level Of Functioning ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
Speech Generating Device ◽  
Instructional Procedures ◽  
Microswitch Technology ◽  
Communicative Abilities

<p>Individuals with profound and multiple disability (PMD) experience more than one type of disability, typically severe to profound intellectual disability and significant motoric impairment. These complex impairments negatively affect many aspects of the person’s functioning, such as daily living, academic, and social skills. Persons with PMD will often experience fluctuating levels of awareness, and often have such severe communication deficits that they rely on the use prelinguistic behaviours (PLBs) to communicate. It is often difficult for those working with these individuals to identify preferences and behavioural states indicative of engagement and motivation. As a result, these individuals often experience social isolation and a lower quality of life. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the overall level of functioning and communicative abilities of four adolescents with PMD and identify instructional procedures that might enhance their natural method of communication, such that they are more readily understood. This was achieved through assessment and intervention based methods. First, the repertoire of forms and functions of specific PLBs in four participants with PMD were identified. Then, circumstances under which behaviours indicative of alertness and engagement were assessed. Next, the author validated the function of specific PLBs used to request the continuation or access to preferred stimuli. Subsequently, three intervention case studies were implemented to strengthen and/or enhance the PLB requesting behaviours of three participants using microswitch technology and individualised instructional strategies. Results suggested that individuals with PMD can and do demonstrate consistent PLBs used to request access to preferred stimuli. Specific PLBs of three participants were strengthened and/or enhanced, with two of these participants able to use a microswitch to activate a speech generating device to produce a communicative request. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the overall outcomes for each participant and the challenges of implementing a whole communication assessment and intervention approach for this population of learners.</p>

scholarly journals Evaluating and Enhancing Communication Skills in Four Adolescents with Profound and Multiple Disabilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Laura Roche
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Multiple Disabilities ◽  
Level Of Functioning ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
Speech Generating Device ◽  
Instructional Procedures ◽  
Microswitch Technology ◽  
Communicative Abilities

<p>Individuals with profound and multiple disability (PMD) experience more than one type of disability, typically severe to profound intellectual disability and significant motoric impairment. These complex impairments negatively affect many aspects of the person’s functioning, such as daily living, academic, and social skills. Persons with PMD will often experience fluctuating levels of awareness, and often have such severe communication deficits that they rely on the use prelinguistic behaviours (PLBs) to communicate. It is often difficult for those working with these individuals to identify preferences and behavioural states indicative of engagement and motivation. As a result, these individuals often experience social isolation and a lower quality of life. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the overall level of functioning and communicative abilities of four adolescents with PMD and identify instructional procedures that might enhance their natural method of communication, such that they are more readily understood. This was achieved through assessment and intervention based methods. First, the repertoire of forms and functions of specific PLBs in four participants with PMD were identified. Then, circumstances under which behaviours indicative of alertness and engagement were assessed. Next, the author validated the function of specific PLBs used to request the continuation or access to preferred stimuli. Subsequently, three intervention case studies were implemented to strengthen and/or enhance the PLB requesting behaviours of three participants using microswitch technology and individualised instructional strategies. Results suggested that individuals with PMD can and do demonstrate consistent PLBs used to request access to preferred stimuli. Specific PLBs of three participants were strengthened and/or enhanced, with two of these participants able to use a microswitch to activate a speech generating device to produce a communicative request. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the overall outcomes for each participant and the challenges of implementing a whole communication assessment and intervention approach for this population of learners.</p>

The Production of Gesture and Speech by People With Aphasia: Influence of Communicative Constraints

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4417-4432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola de Beer ◽  
Jan P. de Ruiter ◽  
Martina Hielscher-Fastabend ◽  
Katharina Hogrefe
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
Task Effects ◽  
Communicative Abilities ◽  
Gesture Production ◽  
And Task ◽  
Group Effects

Purpose People with aphasia (PWA) use different kinds of gesture spontaneously when they communicate. Although there is evidence that the nature of the communicative task influences the linguistic performance of PWA, so far little is known about the influence of the communicative task on the production of gestures by PWA. We aimed to investigate the influence of varying communicative constraints on the production of gesture and spoken expression by PWA in comparison to persons without language impairment. Method Twenty-six PWA with varying aphasia severities and 26 control participants (CP) without language impairment participated in the study. Spoken expression and gesture production were investigated in 2 different tasks: (a) spontaneous conversation about topics of daily living and (b) a cartoon narration task, that is, retellings of short cartoon clips. The frequencies of words and gestures as well as of different gesture types produced by the participants were analyzed and tested for potential effects of group and task. Results Main results for task effects revealed that PWA and CP used more iconic gestures and pantomimes in the cartoon narration task than in spontaneous conversation. Metaphoric gestures, deictic gestures, number gestures, and emblems were more frequently used in spontaneous conversation than in cartoon narrations by both participant groups. Group effects show that, in both tasks, PWA's gesture-to-word ratios were higher than those for the CP. Furthermore, PWA produced more interactive gestures than the CP in both tasks, as well as more number gestures and pantomimes in spontaneous conversation. Conclusions The current results suggest that PWA use gestures to compensate for their verbal limitations under varying communicative constraints. The properties of the communicative task influence the use of different gesture types in people with and without aphasia. Thus, the influence of communicative constraints needs to be considered when assessing PWA's multimodal communicative abilities.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION WITH CHILDREN WITH SENSORY DISORDERS AND MULTIPLE DISABILITIES

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1027-1030
Author(s):  
Gergana Todorova - Markova
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Multiple Disabilities ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Sensory Disorders ◽  
Communication Situations

The article is focused on the communication with children with special educational needs. The main topic is alternative communication with children with sensory disorders and multiple disabilities. It explores the phenomenon of communication, citing current definitions developed by a number of authors, which place the emphasis on different aspects of this complex and multilayered process, with a special focus on alternative communication with the groups of special needs children mentioned in the title.The issue is investigated from a special pedagogical and from a social perspective.The author is especially interested in the exploration of the multiple strata of communication (the universal, functional and specific levels). Apart from the different forms, contents, methods and means of communication (the last of which is most commonly discussed in Bulgaria), the article is focused primarily on the important methodological issues related to this topic.One of these basic questions of methodology is the attempt not to place at the center of this process its bi-directional nature, its algorithm or code (sign language, Braille writing system, etc.), but instead to focus on the personalities of those involved in the interaction, their initiative, relationship and goals manifested in different communication situations (mutual influence, emancipation and therapy). Particular emphasis is given to therapy, i.e. the way of influencing the communication behavior of children with sensory disorders and multiple disabilities. It is not viewed as a unilateral process (stimulus-response), but as an interactive one, based on mutual influence. The relationship between the communicators is of utmost significance.Communication is characterized by a number of specific features. Those can mostly be found in the specificity of the communication situations (for example the interactive situations in the following pairs of communicators: deaf – hard of hearing; deaf – deaf; deaf-blind – deaf, etc.), in the presence of an intermediary (for example a sign language interpreter) and above all in the personalities of the communicators. They change the quality of communication. It is for this reason, and not just because of the different means of communication, that this interaction is defined as “alternative”, or more precisely, it is an alternative to the communication of children without disabilities.Based on the analyzed information, the author formulates a number of inferences and recommendations. The main conclusion is the following:When discussing alternative communication with children with special educational needs, the focus should shift from the specific means of communication towards the equally socially important quality of the complex process of communication, which is centered on the personality of the handicapped child.

scholarly journals Analysis of Medication Adherence and Its Influencing Factors in Patients with Schizophrenia in the Chinese Institutional Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4746
Author(s):  
Wei Yu ◽  
Jie Tong ◽  
Xirong Sun ◽  
Fazhan Chen ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Medication Adherence ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale

Background: Factors related to medication adherence in patients with schizophrenia have always been key to the treatment and rehabilitation of these patients. However, the treatment modes in different countries are not the same, and there is no research on the factors influencing medication adherence under different mental health service modes. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore medication adherence and its influencing factors in patients with schizophrenia in the Chinese institutional environment. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of hospitalized persons living with schizophrenia from November 2018 to January 2019. A systematic sampling method was used to select 217 hospitalized persons living with schizophrenia. The Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS), and Scale of Social Skills for Psychiatric Inpatients (SSPI) were used to explore medication compliance and its influencing factors in the Chinese institutional environment. Results: The descriptive analysis and ANOVA showed that there were no significant differences in medication adherence when assessed by demographic characteristics such as sex, marital status, and education level (p > 0.05). A correlation analysis showed that there was no significant correlation between medication adherence and mental symptoms (p > 0.05) but that there was a positive correlation with self-efficacy, quality of life, and activities of daily living (p < 0.01). The linear regression analysis showed that self-efficacy, psychosocial factors, symptoms/side effects, and activities of daily living had significant effects on medication adherence (F = 30.210, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings show that the self-efficacy, quality of life, and social function of patients with schizophrenia are important self-factors influencing medication adherence in the Chinese institutional environment.

scholarly journals Related Factors and Clinical Outcomes of Osteosarcopenia: A Narrative Review

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 291
Author(s):  
Tatsuro Inoue ◽  
Keisuke Maeda ◽  
Ayano Nagano ◽  
Akio Shimizu ◽  
Junko Ueshima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Osteopenia/osteoporosis and sarcopenia are common geriatric diseases among older adults and harm activities of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QOL). Osteosarcopenia is a unique syndrome that is a concomitant of both osteopenia/osteoporosis and sarcopenia. This review aimed to summarize the related factors and clinical outcomes of osteosarcopenia to facilitate understanding, evaluation, prevention, treatment, and further research on osteosarcopenia. We searched the literature to include meta-analyses, reviews, and clinical trials. The prevalence of osteosarcopenia among community-dwelling older adults is significantly higher in female (up to 64.3%) compared to male (8–11%). Osteosarcopenia is a risk factor for death, fractures, and falls based on longitudinal studies. However, the associations between osteosarcopenia and many other factors have been derived based on cross-sectional studies, so the causal relationship is not clear. Few studies of osteosarcopenia in hospitals have been conducted. Osteosarcopenia is a new concept and has not yet been fully researched its relationship to clinical outcomes. Longitudinal studies and high-quality interventional studies are warranted in the future.

Delays in Manual Reaching Are Associated with Impaired Functional Abilities in Early Dementia Patients

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casper de Boer ◽  
Johan J.M. Pel ◽  
Johannes van der Steen ◽  
Francesco Mattace-Raso
Keyword(s):  
Daily Living ◽  
Hand Movement ◽  
Hand Tracking ◽  
Functional Abilities ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
Early Dementia ◽  
Tracking Devices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hand Response

Background/Aims: Recent evidence shows that early dementia patients have deficits in manual reaching tasks. It is important to understand the impact of these functional disabilities on their quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is an association between manual reaching and measures of (instrumental) activities of daily living (IADL) in a group of patients with cognitive complaints. Methods: The manual reaching performance of 27 patients was assessed in detail with eye and hand tracking devices. Patients were divided into three groups based on self-reported loss of IADL function. Parameters describing hand response and movement times were compared between groups. Results: Patients with loss of IADL function in ≥1 domain had delayed hand response and hand movement times towards visible targets compared to patients with no loss of IADL function. Conclusion: Delays in manual reaching movements are related to the degree of loss of IADL function in early dementia patients.

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