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NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 26:
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designed to help autistic children in Chennai yesterday. |
'Advanced Aut-soft,' a new learning guide and remedial software tool for children suffering from autism was released by Governor Surjit Singh Barnala at the Raj Bhavan here yesterday.
The new software tool developed by K Meena, principal of Shrimati Indira Gandhi College, Triuchi, is designed using Windows Microsoft as the platform. This software would help cater to the needs of autistic children and enable them to learn and speak more fluently.
Speaking at the occasion, the Governor said that there are 500 million disabled persons in the world and every year an additional 15 million people become disabled due to various reasons. In India, statistics reveal that about 1.9 per cent of the population is disabled. He deeply appreciated the commitment and work that gone into designing this software for helping the autistic children.
'Programmes to help the differently abled lead a normal life are the need of the hour. They should be treated with love and kindness,' he said.
Barnala said that disable persons from rural belts are yet to receive proper attention. He said the efforts of an institution or community to rehabilitate these people should also take into account their socioeconomic, psychological and physical needs if they wanted to improve their standard of living.
He said that in the past two decades there has been an increase in the number of persons identified with autism. 'It is learnt that about 70 per cent of persons with autism have an IQ of 70 or below,' he said. 'But my interaction with roller skater Salman Kabir, an autistic child, has shown me that these children excel in different areas. With proper coaching, love, affection and assistance these children can do well in life,' he said.
He said that parents were a child's best friend, philosopher and guide. Parents should identify in what area their child is interested in and train them accordingly, he added.
Meena said that the guide consisted of assessment and remedial tools, aimed at making learning interesting and interactive for children with autism. The modules are set to increase learning skills, understanding ability and overall skill set development. It consists of twelve modules, which covers various aspects like basic learning, pictures and alphabets, human being, eatables, things around us, animals, entertainment, essential grammar, numerical ability, our nation, our universe and evaluation.
Principal Secretary to the
Governor C K Gariyali and special educators from Vidya Sagar were also
present.