Assisting people with multiple disabilities by actively keeping the head in an upright position with a Nintendo Wii Remote Controller through the control of an environmental stimulation

Research in Developmental Disabilities Volume 32, Issue 5, 
September-October 2011, Pages 2005-2010

Ching-Hsiang Shih, Chia-Ju Shih and Ching-Tien Shih

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The latest researches have adopted software technology by applying the Nintendo Wii Remote Controller to the correction of hyperactive limb behavior. This study extended Wii Remote Controller functionality for improper head position (posture) correction (i.e. actively adjusting abnormal head posture) to assess whether two people with multiple disabilities would be able to actively keep the upright head position by controlling their favorite stimulation using a Wii Remote Controller with a newly developed active head position correcting program (AHPCP). The study was performed according to an ABAB design, in which A represented the baseline and B represented intervention phases. Results showed that both participants significantly increased their time duration of maintaining upright head position (TDMUHP) to obtain the desired environmental stimulation during the intervention phases. Practical and developmental implications of the findings were discussed.
Highlights
Commercial high-technology products can be used as high-performance assistive devices. The Nintendo Wii Remote Controller can be used as a head posture detector. Two people with multiple disabilities can actively keep the upright head position through controlling their favorite stimuli by using a Wii Remote Controller.

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