Persons with multiple disabilities select environmental stimuli through a smile response monitored via camera-based technology

Objective: To assess whether two persons with multiple disabilities could use smile expressions and new camera-based microswitch technology to select environmental stimuli.Method: Within each session, a computer system provided samples/reminders of preferred and non-preferred stimuli. The camera-based microswitch determined whether the participants had smile expressions in relation to those samples. If they did, stimuli matching the specific samples to which they responded were presented for 20 seconds.Results: The smile expression could be profitably used by the participants who managed to select means of ∼70% or 75% of the preferred stimulus opportunities made available by the environment while avoiding almost all the non-preferred stimulus opportunities.Conclusion: Smile expressions (a) might be an effective and rapid means for selecting preferred stimulation and (b) might develop into cognitively more elaborate forms of responding through the learning experience (i.e. their consistent association with positive/reinforcing consequences).