Three apps unveiled to support autistic children

At seminar, experts emphasise need to bridge communication gaps.

LAHORE: To support autistic children at various stages of their development, three specially designed smartphone applications developed by a coding team of LUMS have been launched.

The apps were launched at a seminar on the 9th World Autism Awareness Day organised on Sunday by the Autism Spectrum Disorders Welfare Trust (ASDWT) at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

The LUMS Human Computer Interaction Lab (Chisel) team directed by Dr Suleman Shahid has developed these applications named Ahsas, Aghaz and Bol keeping in view the digital needs of autistic children as well as their parents.

Speaking at the seminar, ASDWT Chairperson Rukhsana Shah said autistic kids were isolated from the society due to communication gaps, which existed because of the children being either nonverbal or having articulation issue.

“In Pakistan, it is absolutely essential for these kids to be able to communicate in Urdu in order to bridge this gap,” she said. “These applications can play a crucial role for this.”

Dr Suleman said Aghaz was the application aimed at bridging this communication gap. “It can be used by teachers or therapists and parents to work with their child and help them learn Urdu language,” he said.

Another mobile application named ‘Ahsas: The Emotional Express’ aims to provide an interactive interface that helps autistic children understand their own emotions as well as the emotions of others.

The app also focuses on improving their social interaction; understanding emotions in a social context and being able to react to everyday situations effectively.

Bol has been designed with a focus to develop child’s language and improve his intent to communicate. It uses picture symbols and voice synthesis in Urdu as well as English to help users create messages. Bol seamlessly integrates a powerful keyboard to help children transition from images to text.

Rukhsana believed developing self-awareness in children on the spectrum was crucial as they lacked it. She was of the view that importance should be given to parents training so that they can manage their children well.

A senior clinical psychologist at ASDWT, Asma Ahmed, said there was a dire need for autism centres at the government level as there was no facility available for ASD children. “There are a few specific private autism centres but unfortunately their charges are too high that even a well-to-do family cannot afford,” she added.

“While the Sindh government and Islamabad are developing autism centres at their special education centres, why cannot this be done in Lahore as well?”Asma asked. “In fact it should be implemented all over Pakistan.”

She also called for proper legislation for inclusive education so that each and every autistic child could avail the right to study in a mainstream school. “Unless there is legislation, no school will accommodate our differently abled children and inclusive schools will keep on minting money,” Asma pointed out.

The seminar was followed by a walk by parents and professionals to raise awareness about autism. The participants carried posters and placards and distributed pamphlets on symptoms of autism among the people.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2017.