Mathijs Vervloed
From theory to practice
With financial support of the ‘Stichting tot Verbetering van het Lot der Blinden’ [the foundation to enhance the fate of the blind] we can develop several outcomes of our research into useful products. 1) develop a searchable database of early intervention programs for children with visual impairments (DEIC-VI). We gathered a large number of early intervention programs over the years and had them evaluated by student for content and target groep. A digital program will open up the contents of these programs for clinicians and parents. 2) publish a program for teaching word meaning to children with visual impairment by teachers and early intervetnionists. 3) The doctoral thesis of Gitta de Vaan -Autism spectrum disorder in people with multiple disabilities, Doctoral thesis, 2018 Nijmegen, Netherlands- describes the development of a diagnostic instrument to assess Autism Spectrum Disorders in people with multiple disabilities. There is a Dutch manual of this instrument ‘Observation of Autism in people with Sensory and Intellectual Disabilities’ (OASID). In this project the manual will be translated into English. 4) in the project of Suzanne Verver a augmented (smart) toy is used to enhance social interaction between children with blindness and visual impairment and to teach them factual knowledge in an implicit way. The smart toy consists of standard toys and a wooden base equipped with Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) chips, readers, speakers, a microprocessor, and a power supply. Toy figures are fitted with RFID tags. When a toy figure is within centimeters of a RFID reader the tag can be read when the power is on. The built in electronics produce interactive auditory output during playing. The idea is that social interaction will be enhanced by this because music, sounds and speech are accessible for children who are blind or visually impaired. In the current project two operating augmented/smart toy sets will be produced and studied for usability.
