A Smartphone-Aided Program to Support Video Calls, Leisure, and Occupational Activities in People with Moderate Intellectual Disability

The study evaluated a new smartphone-aided program that added the possibility of making video calls to the leisure and activity options available in the previous version of the program. The participants were seven adults with moderate intellectual disability and sensory impairments who had been exposed to the original smartphone-aided program including leisure and activity options. The new version of the program (a) relied on the use of a Samsung Galaxy J4 Plus smartphone, which was fitted with Android 9.0 operating system and MacroDroid, and (b) alternated periods in which the participants could choose to engage in video calls and leisure with periods in which they were required to carry out occupational activities. Every session alternated four leisure and video call periods with three activity periods. During the baseline (i.e., with the original program), the participants engaged in leisure and activities, but did not manage to make video calls. During the post-intervention phase (i.e., with the new version of the program), the participants engaged in leisure and video calls and maintained their performance of occupational activities. Staff personnel rated the new version of the program more favorably than the previous version. The new version of the program can be a useful resource for people like the participants of this study.