A wireless object location detector enabling people with developmental disabilities to control environmental stimulation through simple occupational activities with Nintendo Wii Balance Boards.
Two adults with developmental disabilities used a Wii Balance Board as a switch to earn lights, music, or a fan by sliding an object to the correct spot.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two adults with developmental disabilities took part. Each sat at a table and slid an object to three spots on a Wii Balance Board.
Custom software sensed where the object landed. Correct placement turned on lights, music, or a fan for 15 seconds.
The study used an ABAB design. Baseline had no stimulation. Intervention gave stimulation for correct moves. Baseline returned, then intervention again.
What they found
Both adults quickly placed the object more often when stimulation was available. Their rate dropped when stimulation stopped and rose again when it returned.
The Wii board plus free SLDP software worked as a reliable switch. Participants controlled the environment with simple work motions.
How this fits with other research
Shih et al. (2010) first used the Wii board to sense standing posture. The 2012 study swaps posture for object placement, showing the tool can fit different goals.
Shih et al. (2012) extended the idea to pairs. Adults walked side-by-side on two boards to earn stimulation. The single-user version came first; the partner version proves the tech scales to social tasks.
Lancioni et al. (2008) and Robertson et al. (2013) got similar gains with microswitches. Wii boards give a cheaper, off-the-shelf option that needs no wiring.
Why it matters
You can turn a $20 game board into a switch for clients who can slide, step, or stand. No soldering, no velcro, no battery packs. Plug the board into a laptop, load the free SLDP program, and preferred stimuli run themselves. Try it next time you want to add environmental control to vocational or leisure tasks without buying special switches.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Plug a Wii board into your laptop, open SLDP, and let a client turn on a favorite song by sliding a beanbag to the correct corner.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The latest researches have adopted software technology, turning the Nintendo Wii Balance Board into a high performance standing location detector with a newly developed standing location detection program (SLDP). This study extended SLDP functionality to assess whether two people with developmental disabilities would be able to actively perform simple occupational activities by controlling their favorite environmental stimulation using Nintendo Wii Balance Boards and SLDP software. An ABAB design was adopted in this study to perform the tests. The test results showed that, during the intervention phases, both participants significantly increased their target response (i.e. simple occupational activity) to activate the control system to produce environmental stimulation. The practical and developmental implications of the findings are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2011.12.018