New Communication Help

 
Communication can help against
aggressions; © Pixelio.de

Communication ability among children who are intellectually disabled or have communication limitations such as autism, Down’s syndrome, or cerebral palsy may soon be improved thanks to a research group of the University of Granada.

SC@UT, which stands for Augmentative and Adaptive Communication System, is a software for augmenting communication by computer devices (PCs, laptops, PDAs, etc.). It is designed for children with special communication and educational needs, such as those who suffer from autism.

The functioning of SC@UT is easy: through a PC (or even better, a PDA) parents or tutors can download the specific software from the website www.ugr.es. After this, the device is ready to be used as a means of communication between the child and society. Thanks to the SC@UT project, the child can express such needs as going to the toilet or hunger, as well as such states as being happy, sad, or tired. SC@UT includes a speaker which transmits the “user’s comments” to the listener.

“This is a project promoted by the Regional Government of Andalusia which attempts to reduce differences between disabled and non-disabled people”, states Professor Cañas Delgado. ”We have created a configurable parameter tool that allows disabled people to interact with their environment. In this way, their adaptation to a world full of barriers is much easier. In present world, social and labour integration is impossible without communication and access to education.”

Prof. Cañas Delgado states that when communication improves, disruptive behaviour in disabled children decreases. Consequently, the use of that display could also diminish aggressiveness in autistic children. “Many of them injure themselves and present aggressive behaviour because they become frustrated when they cannot communicate with others. If they could communicate through SC@UT, this problem would disappear.”

At the moment, this initiative has started to work as a pioneering project in 16 schools of the Southern Spanish provinces of Granada and Jaen.

REHACARE.de; Source: University of Granada

- Read more about the University of Granada at: www.ugr.es

( Source: REHACARE.de )