Individuals with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) rely on direct support professionals (DSPs) to communicate with them and plan meaningful activities of daily living (ADL) for them. This qualitative descriptive study explored how DSPs providing ongoing care who work directly with individuals with PIMD describe the use of…

Using an autoethnographic approach, this dissertation explores the path taken by a person who serves a unique population of individuals--people who not only have more than one disability, but in addition, are unable to communicate using verbal (spoken) speech. Starting with a recap of the history of the use and subsequent oppression of American…

The purpose of this study was to determine how a family communication partner (usually the mother IS primarily responsible for communication with a youth with a communication disability) could be trained to use an iPad and communication software for increasing appropriate communication and decreasing inappropriate behavior of youth with…