Hackathon hopes to find apps solutions for autistic, disabled Special educators Anagha Rao (left) and Swathi Vellal The apps are meant to help autistic children face and overcome the challenges of social interaction and concentration
Coders, designers, self-advocates from the Spastics Society of Karnataka and those on the autism spectrum -- as many as 220 of them -- will be working this weekend to create apps to help those with developmental difficulties. An initiative of Prayas Labs, a project of Autism Society of India, this Hackathon for Developmental Disabilities is a first-of-its-kind attempt to create awareness and encourage those in the technology sector to contribute to solutions. At the Prayas Labs office in Indiranagar, special educators Anagha Rao and Swathi Vellal discuss the plan, which has been in the works for two months. "Such a hackathon hasn't really been done before in India. Since we work closely with technological intervention for disabilities, we thought it would bridge the gap." An initiation into the meaning of developmental disabilities -- "many people thought it meant physical deformities. It includes celebral palsy," says Rao -- will be followed by a presentation by Sarbani Mallick (Founder-Director, Bubbles Centre for Autism), the formation of teams, and finally, work on apps overseen by mentors. Mentors include Dr Vandana from NIMHANS and Jayashree Rajanahally from Brindavan Psycho-education Trust. Many existing apps make foreign references like showing blonde children, or are too expensive. Rao and Vellal hope that participants will help participants to overcome these issues in their productions. At the end of the two-day event, the prototypes created will be judged on the basis of criteria -- the app's ability/potential to address the problem on a large scale; novelty and innovation; the technical and implementation feasibility; the clarity of presentation; the user-friendliness of the idea; and the applicability, among others. Children on the autism spectrum face challenges of social interaction and concentration, are often non-verbal. The hackathon, the team hopes, will give rise to workable applications that address these matters. Vellal demonstrates, "this app teaches them how to behave in a social setting like at the salon for a haircut, and alerts them to the fact that their hair will be wet and they need to sit still and patient." The judging panel comprises names such as Prof Malavika Kapur from the National Institute of Advanced Studies and Dr Ashok Mysore, Professor at St Johns Medical College Hospital. A reward of Rs 1 lakh will be divided among the top three winning teams (Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000), who will get two months to further develop their apps. Participants include students from PES University and IIT Bangalore, and even those with companies such as Microsoft, Cognizant, Mindtree, Kuliza Technologies and EdgeVerve, among others. Prayas Labs, which has raised Rs 3 lakh via crowdfunding, hopes to raise sponsorship to cover the remaining costs. "We have found that technology is very useful in helping kids with developmental disorders overcome their limitations," says Rao, citing the example of eight-year-old Vicky, who, using an iPad app, leant to write the complete alphabet and numbers 1 to 10 in seven weeks, and now fully understands the social mores of using the toilet -- both huge achievements for children on the autism spectrum. The duo hopes the Hackathon will create more such applications and generate awareness on the issue. Source http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/others/Hackathon-hopes-to-find-apps-solutions-for-autistic-disabled/articleshow/45039873.cms -- m. sivakumar. P.hd. International Institute of Tamil Studies CIT Campus, 2nd Main Road, Tharamani, Chennai, 600113 We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one. Clean India Campaign: Let us also chip in! Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
