Smarter eyes technology to aid communication with students

THE Society for the Management of Autism Related in Training Education and Resources (Smarter) Brunei has plans to develop an electronic communication tool to be incorporated into the China-made e-Pad to assist its students in communication, according to the president.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, Malai Hj Abdullah Hj Malai Othman , who owns an e-Pad said that he is currently trying to customise a communication programme with the help of an Information Technology expert from Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (Unissa).

Originally, he said that he used visual flashcards for his 13-year-old son Farid, to communicate with him.

For instance, if Farid wanted to eat or go out, there would be pictures of Farid eating or sitting inside a car, ready to go out.

Malai Hj Abdullah said that he has found a way to do this electronically and has formed his own programme through power point, where Farid only needs to tap on the screen to show what he wants to do.

"Basically they are tapping to talk. I have taken pictures of him eating, so if he wants to eat, he only has to tap on the screen and let me know," he said.

Parents of individuals with autism need to play a part in this too as each programme needs to be tailor-made to suit the needs of their own children.

"For instance, if Farid likes going to a certain restaurant, another child might not want the same, so this is where families need to take pictures of the child so they can identify their actions," he said.

He added that there will also be voice-overs assisting the system and said that the IT expert from Unissa had offered to help with the programme.

"Unissa will be helping us develop the programme's voice-over so it should be able to have a voice right away, to make it easy for the students when they press the command button," he said.

The e-Pad, which costs $250, was a cheaper way to get the communicated tool up and running compared to the state-of-the-art Augmentative Communication Device, which can cost up to $8,000.

The device serves the same purpose as the programme, but has special keyboards equipped with voice output software that transforms typed words into speech.

"This e-Pad is Chinese made, so it is definitely cheaper," he said. A company has promised to donate 20 pieces of the e-Pad.

The Brunei Times