 28 Jun 2005 @ 02:24
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
For five months, four eighth-grade students at Ginsburg HaOren junior high in Yavneh worked on the development of a very different type of computer game.
The quartet came up with a game designed to enhance the attention, concentration and memory capabilities of children with autism.
It was a project that required much thought, talks with members of Bar-Ilan University's Gonda Brain Research Center and research into the disabilities of children with autism.
The game, Zikhronon, was presented a few weeks ago at a competition in which students from around the country are called on to design games, instruments or devices that can make life easier for individuals with disabilities. Zikhronon took first place in the Quality Product category.
Dr. Roni Geva from the Gonda Brain Research Center helped with the game's development. Geva said turning the game into a commercial product was still a way off, but that it was certainly interesting and required a series of reviews.
Tami Ben-Shabbat, the director of Eshkol Payis in Yavneh, who was also involved in the development of the game for the competition, said it was devised following research into its need in the market.
"I approached the Israel Center for Aids for the Disabled, and they told me that no such game existed," she said. "We work in this regard in keeping with the real needs in the field. After we make a decision on the matter, we approach experts and request academic assistance."
The technical development of the game was entrusted to a classmate of the four students, Elnatan Vazana, 14, who is considered among the group to have extensive knowledge in the field of computers, despite his age.
The group has already presented the game at the Ankor kindergarten in Yavneh, which cares for eight children with autism. Kindergarten teacher Anat Kreitzer was impressed. "I don't believe it can work miracles, but it can certainly serve as an additional tool for treating autistic children," she said.
Link from Ha'aretz, Tuesday June 28th, 2005[link]
Note: Everyday now there are updates about technological innovations coming out of Israel, but this is the first time I've seen 8th graders supported by Industry to create something. How these particular students found sponsors is a story I haven't yet uncovered, but it's happened, and hopefully it will happen again.
There's a lot of brain power going on here. I see it in my kibbutz-based high school. Children come to learn and as a part of their regular timetable, instead of studying woodshop or crafts, they assist the Computer techie in routine maintenance. There's a lot of brain power. Let it grow.
--judih More >
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