A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF 4 THERAPY PROCEDURES ON CONCENTRATION AND RESPONSIVENESS IN PEOPLE WITH PROFOUND LEARNING-DISABILITIES

This paper is an investigation into the efficacy of four therapeutic t reatment procedures increasingly used with people with profound learni ng disabilities: snoezelen, hand massage/aromatherapy, relaxation, and active therapy (a bouncy castle). In particular, the effects of these procedures on concentration and responsiveness were examined. Eight s ubjects with profound learning disabilities took part in the study and each subject received each of the treatments. To assess the effects o f the treatments, simple concentration tasks were administered and the subjects' responsiveness to each treatment was rated by independent o bservers. The results suggest that both snoezelen and relaxation had a positive effect on concentration and seemed to be the most enjoyable therapies for clients, whereas hand massage/aromatherapy and active th erapy had no or even negative effects on concentration and appeared le ss enjoyable.