Children and parents at the event to commemorate the World Autism Awareness Month.
Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) recently hosted “Everyday Heroes” event to commemorate the World Autism Awareness Month.
Organised in collaboration with the Step by Step Centre for Special Needs, the event aimed to highlight the challenges and triumphs that children with autism and their parents face every day. It engaged more than 160 children with autism and their parents, and was an opportunity for children to showcase their skills through song and dance performances.
The event included a presentation by CENG Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Dr John-John Cabibihan and Interim Division Chief for the Division of Developmental Pediatrics at Sidra Medical and Research Center, Dr Maria Fatima Janjua. Dr Cabibihan briefed the audience on the ongoing research on social robotics and wearable devices for autism diagnosis and intervention, while Dr Maria Fatima Janjua advised the parents on effective interventions and various treatment approaches for autism and suggested that parents seek out reliable information from trained professionals before making any decisions.
It also included demo sessions on various wearable sensors, robotic toys, and a virtual reality (VR) simulator.
The parents were briefed on an eye tracker that has a potential for collecting eye gaze data needed for autism diagnosis and a humanoid robot that interacts with children through engaging activities.
Additionally, the parents were made to experience the multisensory overload in autism through VR.
