Towards improved ways of knowing children with profound multiple disabilities: Introducing startle reflex modulation

Objective: To propose startle reflex modulation (SRM) as an objective measure of emotions of children with profound multiple disabilities (PMD). Knowledge about emotion states of children with PMD is crucial to their individualised care and support. Proxy reporting, observational and physiological measures of emotion are reported in the literature. Despite advances in this science, the rigour of the findings and methods are contested. In this article, we introduce SRM; a neurophysiological measure untried with children with PMD, despite its well-known sensitivity to even subtle changes in affective processing without depending on explicit responses. Results: We propose a research agenda that aims to deliver a more comprehensive and accurate profile of the inner states of these children, based upon previous research undertaken using SRM. Conclusion: It is suggested that this objective measure has potential to provide useful information about the inner emotional states of children with PMD.