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Fostering Locomotion Fluency of Five Adolescents with Rett Syndrome through a Microswitch-Based Program: Contingency Awareness and Social Rating

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Abstract

We further extended the use of a microswitch-based program for assessing contingency awareness and promoting locomotion fluency of five adolescents with Rett syndrome. A second goal was to evaluate the effectiveness and the suitability of the rehabilitative intervention on participants’ indices of happiness as outcome measure of their quality of life and on the reduction of their stereotypic behaviors. Finally, a social validation procedure involving 40 parents of children with severe developmental disabilities and 40 caregivers was carried out. The study was conducted according to an ABABCBCB experimental sequence for each participant, with A representing baselines, B indicating the contingent intervention closely linked to the adaptive responding, and C reporting a non-contingent control phase with positive stimulation occurring throughout the session, irrespective of the adaptive behavior. Results showed an improved performance for all the participants during contingent intervention phases. The control phases revealed that all participants acquired the contingency awareness. The indices of happiness increased as sign of an enhanced quality of life. Both groups of raters favorably scored the use of such technology. Clinical, practical, and psychological implications of the findings were discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Fabrizio Stasolla, Viviana Perilli, Adele Boccasini & Rita Damiani

  2. Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Alessandro O. Caffò

  3. Villa Argento Medical Care Center, Modugno & Alberobello, Alberobello, Italy

    Fiora D’Amico

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  1. Fabrizio Stasolla
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  2. Alessandro O. Caffò
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  3. Viviana Perilli
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  4. Adele Boccasini
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  5. Rita Damiani
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  6. Fiora D’Amico
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Correspondence to Fabrizio Stasolla.

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Stasolla, F., Caffò, A.O., Perilli, V. et al. Fostering Locomotion Fluency of Five Adolescents with Rett Syndrome through a Microswitch-Based Program: Contingency Awareness and Social Rating. J Dev Phys Disabil 30, 239–258 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-017-9582-9

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