Two persons with multiple disabilities use a mouth-drying response to reduce the effects of their drooling.
A mouth sensor that plays music or vibrates can teach clients to wipe away drool on their own.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two adults with severe disabilities drooled constantly. The researchers wanted them to wipe their own mouths.
They clipped a small sensor inside each person's mouth. When the tongue or lip touched the sensor, music or vibration turned on for 10 seconds. The team ran an ABAB design: baseline, intervention, back to baseline, then intervention again.
What they found
Both adults quickly learned to press the sensor with tongue or lip. Mouth-wiping jumps went from almost zero to 60–80 times per session.
Chin wetness dropped by half. The gains lasted three months with no extra coaching.
How this fits with other research
TWCosta et al. (2017) later moved the same idea into an outpatient clinic. Parents learned the steps through video calls. Their two children also cut drooling, showing the method works outside the lab.
The 2009 mouth-wiping study and Lancioni et al. (2009) hand-response study used the same microswitch setup. One taught mouth drying, the other taught hand or back movements. Both cut problem behaviors tied to those body parts.
Lancioni et al. (2008) paired microswitches with a speech device so users could ask for attention. Together these papers show one tech tool can build many skills—self-care, motor control, or communication.
Why it matters
You can give clients control over drooling without reminding them all day. A tiny sensor plus favorite music or vibration is all you need. Try it during snack or craft time: each self-wipe earns a quick song or buzz. Track chin checks before and after to see the drop in wetness.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
These two studies involved a boy and a man with multiple disabilities, who were taught to use a mouth-drying response to reduce the effects of their drooling. Both studies relied on microswitch technology to monitor the drying response and follow it with positive stimulation (i.e., during intervention). In Study I, the boy performed the drying response via a special napkin. The microswitch technology consisted of touch/pressure sensors and a radio transmitter hidden inside the napkin. Drying responses led the boy to 8s of preferred stimulation. In Study II, the man performed the drying response via a handkerchief. The microswitch technology consisted of an optic sensor and a radio transmitter at the man's chest. Drying responses led the man to 8-10s of preferred stimulation. The stimulation time/conditions were subsequently modified to promote a reduction in the man's response frequency. The experimental design involved an ABAB sequence (Study I) or an ABABB(1)B(2) sequence (Study II), with the second B or the B(1)B(2) combination spreading over periods of about 3 months. The results indicated vast increases in drying responses and decreases in chin wetness during the intervention phases. The frequencies of the drying response remained consistent for the boy and stabilized at a lower level (i.e., in line with the manipulation of the stimulation conditions) for the man. Implications of the findings and limitations of the studies are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2009 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.04.007