Mainstream Technology as Basic Support for Individuals with Extensive Neuro-Motor Impairments and Absence of Verbal Skills

Objectives The present study was aimed at assessing a simplified technology-aided program to allow eight participants with extensive neuro-motor impairments and absence of verbal skills to access preferred leisure events and call the caregiver independently. Methods The technology included mainstream commercial components such as an Echo Dot© with Amazon Alexa©, a Samsung smartphone, and two voice recording devices. Each voice recording device served to record and produce a verbal message, that is, “Alexa music” and “Alexa call the caregiver (NAME)” during the intervention phase of the study. The devices were displayed in front of the participants and could be activated by a simple hand-pressure response. Activation of the devices led the Alexa application of the Echo Dot to deliver a song and call the caregiver, respectively. Results During the baseline sessions (without the support of the voice recording devices), the participants failed to access songs or to call the caregiver. During the intervention phase (with the support of the voice recording devices), all participants managed to access songs and to call the caregiver independently. The cumulative mean frequency of songs accessed and calls made per 10-min session varied between slightly above 4 and nearly 6. The mean frequency of songs accessed tended to be predominant for all participants. Conclusions The new technology-aided program may be a useful resource for supporting individuals like the participants of this study.