Improving independent engagement of nonambulatory multihandicapped persons through the systematic analysis of leisure materials

Independent, constructive use of leisure time is an important part of habilitation and humane treatment for profoundly multihandicapped persons, yet such individuals typically live in group-care settings where opportunities for and rates of appropriate independent leisure activity are very limited. This research was conducted in an institutional living environment during times when program activities were minimal and clients were typically inactive. We conducted a series of direct observations and experimental manipulations of the physical environment focusing on subjects' engagement with a variety of entertainment materials or toys. Results showed that empirically based toy selection, construction, and modification, and environmental engineering to ensure convenient and constant material availability increased subjects' active engagement with toys. The results provide another example of how the typical inactivity of profoundly multihandicapped people is strongly influenced by environmental factors that can be easily modified by indigenous staff.