Abstract
The present article is a review of studies of people with profound and multiple disabilities who need intensive medical care, from the perspective of how people around them should understand them. Topics covered include their health and physical condition, considered in the context of the relation between an educational approach and medical care, the relationship between variations in wakefulness and the educational approach, features such as the extent to which their body movements are voluntary, and communication. The present article also reviews approaches to understanding these topics. Physiological studies have suggested that people with profound and multiple disabilities interact with their environment. In order to contribute to their education, physiological indices should be included in the educational approach and planning. Finally, some ideas and studies relating to co-creating communication were introduced as a way of interpreting and understanding the meaning of the behavior of people with profound and multiple disabilities.
