Special needs children get iPads

Shamila Jamaluddin, Staff Reporter

ABU DHABI: In line with its commitment to help autistic children towards a better future du from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) recently distributed iPads preloaded with the BabNoor App to special needs children in the Emirates Autism Centre, Abu Dhabi.

Autism is drawing increased attention in the UAE and is a subject of constant study as it looks towards a better future for autistic children so they can contribute to the development of the country and enjoy a secure future.

BabNoor – ‘Door of Light’ in English enables easy and effective communication for children with a range of disabilities, such as autism, hearing and speech impairments, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and trauma injuries.

Dr Amal Galal Sabry, Director, Emirates Autism Centre, said, “With the introduction of BabNoor to our students, this revolutionary Arabic assistive communication app has helped revolutionise how they interact with the world around them. This has unlocked a new medium for alternative and assistive channels of communication while remaining in line with Arabic culture, traditions and standards.”

BabNoor enables easy and effective communication using international communication standards for people with special communication needs through pre-defined cards that form sentences, while also providing children the ability to create additional personalised content and cards.

Developed by Flagship Projects, BabNoor’s features include: an Arabic interface and vocabulary, cloud-based libraries of content and picture cards, localised cards and local dialects, ability to create and personalise additional cards by the user, and constant updates based on monitored case studies.

du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), and Flagship Projects announced Monday they are extending their successful BabNoor app partnership for three more years.

As part of the renewal of their commitment to the UAE’s disabled communities, the companies have also enabled the app for iPhone use and it can now be downloaded via Apple’s global App Store. Abdul Wahed Juma, Executive Vice President of Brand and Communication, du, said: “The success of the BabNoor app reiterates our commitment towards ensuring the UAE’s special needs communities are catered for.