A Technology System to Help People With Intellectual Disability and Blindness Find Room Destinations During Indoor Traveling: Case Series Study

Giulio E Lancioni; Gloria Alberti; Chiara Filippini; Nirbhay N Singh; Mark F O'Reilly; Jeff Sigafoos; Isabella Orlando; Lorenzo Desideri

doi:10.2196/65680

A Technology System to Help People With Intellectual Disability and Blindness Find Room Destinations During Indoor Traveling: Case Series Study

JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2024 Nov 27:11:e65680. doi: 10.2196/65680.

Authors

Giulio E Lancioni¹, Gloria Alberti¹, Chiara Filippini¹, Nirbhay N Singh², Mark F O'Reilly³, Jeff Sigafoos⁴, Isabella Orlando¹, Lorenzo Desideri⁵

Affiliations

¹ Lega F. D'Oro Research Center, Osimo (AN), Italy.
² College of Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States.
³ Department of Special Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.
⁴ School of Education, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Milan, Italy.

PMID: 39602792
DOI: 10.2196/65680

Abstract

Background: People with severe or profound intellectual disability and visual impairment tend to have serious problems in orientation and mobility and need assistance for their indoor traveling. The use of technology solutions may be critically important to help them curb those problems and achieve a level of independence.

Objective: This study aimed to assess a new technology system to help people with severe to profound intellectual disability and blindness find room destinations during indoor traveling.

Methods: A total of 7 adults were included in the study. The technology system entailed a barcode reader, a series of barcodes marking the room entrances, a smartphone, and a special app that controlled the presentation of different messages (instructions) for the participants. The messages varied depending on whether the participants were (1) in an area between room entrances, (2) in correspondence with a room entrance to bypass, or (3) in correspondence with a room entrance representing the destination to enter. The intervention with the technology system was implemented according to a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants. Sessions included 7 traveling trials, in each of which the participants were to reach and enter a specific room (1 of the 7 or 9 available) to deliver an object they had carried (transported) during their traveling.

Results: The participants' mean frequency of traveling trials completed correctly was between zero and 2 per session during the baseline (without the system). Their mean frequency increased to between about 6 and nearly 7 per session during the intervention (with the system).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the new technology system might be a useful support tool for people with severe to profound intellectual disability and blindness.

Keywords: barcode; barcode reader; blindness; digital health; disability; health intervention; indoor travel; indoor traveling; intellectual disability; mobile health; mobile phone; mobility; navigation; orientation; patient assessment; patient care; patient support; rehabilitation; support tools; technology use; telerehabilitation; travel; user engagement; wayfinding.

©Giulio E Lancioni, Gloria Alberti, Chiara Filippini, Nirbhay N Singh, Mark F O’Reilly, Jeff Sigafoos, Isabella Orlando, Lorenzo Desideri. Originally published in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology (https://rehab.jmir.org), 27.11.2024.