(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)In a bid to better communicate with children with autism and hearing and speech difficulties du has joined hands with the Dubai Autism Centre and Flagship Projects to promote a cloud-based application Babnoor.
The app is also aimed at helping children with Down's syndrome cerebral palsy trauma injuries and similar ailments improve their ability to communicate. The first batch of 130 tablets preloaded with the app will be presented to the Dubai Autism Centre in the 2015-2016 academic year. Additional batches of tablets will be distributed throughout other autism centers in the UAE during the course of the year. The app - developed by Flagship Projects - intends to complement and eventually replace the traditional physical visual and pictorial reference cards for children with special needs. It has been culturally adapted to the needs of Arabic speakers around the region and is the first of its kind application customised for local Arabic dialects. The content of the Babnoor App is validated by speech therapists and it follows the standardised and globally accepted picture exchange communication system (PECS). Speaking on the communication opportunities that the App will offer children with special needs Sara Ahmed Baker Autism Programme Head at Dubai Autism Centre said: "Using the app will reduce dependence on physical methods and therapy and we hope that at least 50% of children with special needs will adopt it wholeheartedly." The app is adaptable and can be customised to suit both institutional and personal needs based on the level of competency required. In addition it provides the institution and the developer the option of improvising and further customising the app based on usage patterns and statistics collected thus offering an improved product. 5% of revenues derived from du's Emirati Plan will be sourced to fund the Babnoor App giving citizens the opportunity to be indirectly involved with this incredible initiative. The Babnoor App will initially only be available on iOS. To find out more please visit www.babnoor.com.
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