Integrating Behavior of Children with Profound Intellectual, Multiple, or Severe Motor Disabilities With Location and Environment Data Sensors for Independent Communication and Mobility: App Development and Pilot Testing.
Von Ralph Dane Marquez Herbuela, Tomonori Karita, Yoshiya Furukawa and 5 others
PMID 34096878WHAT IT FOUND
A new app let caregivers record children with severe or profound disabilities' sounds, movements, and facial expressions with location and weather data.
It collected most data well, but indoor location detection was weakest, and no communication benefit was tested.
Key findings
01The ChildSIDE app was built to collect caregivers' interpretations of children's behaviors together with location and environment data.
02In pilot testing, the app transmitted GPS data at 100% and iBeacon data at 82.3%, with overall performance ranging from 82% to 100%.
03The categorized behaviors were mainly body movement (27.7%), hand movement (22.8%), and vocalization (21.6%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was a pilot app-development study with 20 child-caregiver dyads from a special needs school, and it did not test communication or mobility outcomes. The app transmitted iBeacon data at 82.3%, the lowest performance area reported, so indoor location data were less consistently transmitted. The paper reports 105 sessions and 150 sessions in different sections, so the exact session count is unclear. Sessions were done only in a school setting, not at home or other locations, so behavior patterns may differ. The investigator's presence may have influenced the children's behavior. Findings may not generalize beyond Japanese children with PIMD/SMID in special needs schools because of setting, sample, and translation issues. There was no comparison app or standard method against which to judge the performance rates.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied text does not report a funding source.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that the app helps children communicate or move independently. It was an app-development pilot that tested data collection and behavior categorization, not clinical outcomes.