Effects of Intensive Interaction on the Social and Communication Behaviour of Three Students with Profound/Multiple Disabilities

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effects of an intervention, known as Intensive Interaction (II), on the social and communicative behaviour of three students with profound/multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). Methods: Three secondary school-aged students with PMLD were observed, and their level of social and communicative engagement rated, during an initial baseline and subsequent intervention phase. The intervention was introduced across participants in a multiple-baseline across subjects design. Results: Social and communicative engagement increased during intervention relative to baseline for each of the three students. Conclusion: II appeared to be effective in increasing social and communicative engagement of the participants and may therefore be viewed as a potentially promising approach for other students with PMLD.