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​Education Seminars: STEM Principles in Classroom
Learn to code by using Robotics and VideoGame Platforms

Collaborating with Educational Centers across Romania to build strong technology curriculums and empower children to learn through hands-on product building on various Robotic and VideoGame platforms. Program is inspired and adapted from the RoboCamp at Auburn University Engineering School, built under the kind and exceptional mentorship of Prof. Daniela Marghitu, a pioneer in the Educational Technologies field. 


The L. Nicolae Grant for Special Education
Scholarships Supporting Special Educations Accessibility

Supporting exceptional children with scholarships contributing to their tuition in a special education institution. 


Technology Access for Special Needs Families 
Fundraising and Activity Campaign

Integrating technology resources in the children's daily lessons and activities, by supporting centers and households with equipment, software and necessary training. The equipment consists of new or refurbished touchscreen tablets, smart-boards and social-assistive communication devices.

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Previous Projects

2013-2014

Improving Technology Access for Special Ed Centers - Partnering with Invingem Autismul Association, Bucharest, Romania 
Fundraising and Activity Campaign

Assist in process of equipping center with touch-screen tablets and exposure to innovative technologies such as the NAO robot for special education. The multidisciplinary center is dedicated to the education and social integration of children with autism an it currently is helping 23 kids achieve functional communication, independent living skills and enhanced cognitive knowledge. 


Build your Own Toy using Lego Mindstorms  
Activity Seminar

Children with autism and their families build together and then showcase their projects. An excellent bonding experience for the family while learning about actions, effects and consequences. For a child with autism, making these connections is an important milestone. It is an effective tool in familiarizing the children with the process of how things can go together, and even sprouts a passion for engineering. Once the interest is sparked, then we can start introducing the kids to new areas of focus by using Lego as a supporting platform. 


2012-2013

Recognition Game and Interaction Behavioral Platform 
Invingem Autismul Asociation, Alexandra Sugurel, Elsa Alaswad

Creating two cause-effect cognitive and behavioral training apps in collaboration with psychopedagogs from Invingem Autismul Association: The first game is designed for ages 2-5 and is based on association and recognition of objects. It is customized for different levels of difficulty and able to store data and recognize improvement for each participant. 
The second is a digital platform for teenagers that encourages behavior interpretation through video and quizzes the user on situations in which specific sets of behaviors are appropriate. Data is recorded for each session and the user can view progress across time.


Project Pronouns, Teaching Personal Pronouns to Children with Autism 
Camelia Dascalu

An interactive platform that teaches personal pronouns and their use in various situations. All children go through steps of acquiring pronouns and expressions, and these acquisition stages depend on the cognitive development that facilitates the understanding of context change, perspective taking and the principal role of a discussion. In typical children, reversal and cognitive constraints are only temporary, as they are eventually able to understand the shift of reference and use personal pronouns correctly. In the case of autism, a developmental disorder that affects verbal and non-verbal communication, social ability, and behavior, one main difficulty in the semantic and pragmatic abilities is the use of pronominal reference. The platform aims at teaching the connections between pronouns and people, by presenting interactive pictographs animated with movement, sound and text  associated with family, occupations and places. The second module of the project aims at strengthening the lessons by prompting the user during fun games of contextual pronoun usage. 


2011-2012

One day in Alice, Desensitization & Computer Familiarization Game for Autism 
Alexandra Sugurel

This 3d environment interactive game, is the story of a young man who crosses the street without paying attention, and the consequences that happen. You must complete three games in order to be granted a second chance on the road. The first game teaches how to use a keyboard while guiding a frog to collect mushrooms. The second game displays a bird collecting flowers and is focused on using the mouse, accentuating the idea of connecting the button click with the action on the screen. The third game is a simple word game, and encourages the users to type or say the answer. The overall game includes increasing levels of sound and movement, aimed at helping the user grow accustomed to the movement and noise of daily life. 

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