Spoken messages as auditory cues for orientation in promoting indoor travel and activity by persons with multiple...

Spoken messages lasting about 2 sec. and occurring every 8 or 9 sec. were used as auditory cues for orientation to guide two persons with multiple disabilities to destinations for indoor activities. The use of spoken messages was alternated with buzzer-like sounds of the same duration and frequency of occurrence. The preliminary data indicated that both the spoken messages and the buzzer-like sounds were very effective as orientation cues. Staff found no difference in disturbance between them, yet, both were considered less disturbing than buzzer-like sounds of previous studies which had a higher frequency of occurrence.