Stichting Milo, OOK-OC! and 8D are working together on a challenging innovation project: the development of a game that helps remedial educationalists, psychologists and practitioners to map the cognitive skills and abilities of children with communicative multiple disabilities (CMB). Children with CMB speak little or not at all and often have a combination of intellectual, sensory and/or motor impairments in addition to speech language problems. Dr. Stijn Deckers, responsible for Quality and Innovation at Stichting Milo and director of OOK-OC!: ‘An important condition we took into account is scalability; if the prototype proves effective and the development continues, then it must be feasible and easy for the entire field to start using the tool as well.’
The innovation process originated from the daily treatment practice of Milo, a treatment and expertise center in the field of supported communication (OC) for people with CMB. Deckers: “Professionals currently do not have broadly applicable, well-founded tools to thoroughly map the cognitive ability and learning potential of their clients. This is also complex: how do you properly map out what a child does or does not understand when it cannot talk? And also has problems with motor skills – such as being able to point to something – or with hearing and/or seeing? How do you simultaneously make such a tool applicable to children who can only use their eyes, but not their bodies? By cleverly combining different tools and sensors we want to find a suitable solution.
8D is a technical partner in the innovation process. Creative director Giel Hekkert: “For our team this is a dream job, both in terms of technical complexity and ambition to make the care towards these children even better. The prototype that is now in the works is out-of-the-box in terms of hardware connected and playable in three different situations, tailored to the specific capabilities of the child: ‘only seeing’, ‘only hearing’ and ‘only feeling’. We are incredibly looking forward to testing the first playable version.’
The next step is to investigate whether the intended solution direction is indeed the right solution, Deckers said. ‘We will do that together with the OC therapists of Stichting Milo during test moments in Leeuwarden and Schijndel. If the results are positive, we will look at how we can take the prototype further.’ Thereby it is emphatically not the intention to keep the acquired knowledge only for the own organization: ‘We continue to invest in new solutions and want to share this knowledge with the entire work field; eventually we have to raise OC care to the highest possible level together.’
Are you curious about the progress of this innovative development project? Visit ‘Cognitive skills mapping in children with CMB‘
Milo Foundation is an independent treatment center for supported communication that provides care for children and young adults, up to age 23, with communicative multiple disabilities. We always see opportunities in communicative development for people with CMB and work on this together with the entire network (parents, social network, professionals around the child, other care organizations). Milo works on an outpatient basis and provides care and treatment with parents and children at home and in all major living environments. In addition, Milo offers intensive day treatment. The link with the chair ‘Supported Communication’ at the Radboud University in Nijmegen and Stichting OOK-OC! provides scientifically based services, knowledge development and transfer in the form of education, training and coaching for clients, parents, family members and professionals.
Foundation OOK-OC! aims to improve the quality of supported communication for people with communicative multiple disabilities (CMB). We do this by researching and developing new products, methods and services, such as knowledge resources, intervention programs, applied gaming, technological learning developments and programs in the context of Appropriate Education. Great products, programs and methods are also being developed abroad. We make sure that these also become usable in the Netherlands by making language-oriented adaptations. OOK-OC! works closely with the Chair of Supported Communication at the Radboud University Nijmegen, Expertise Center Dutch and Foundation Milo. This way we are always aware of the latest developments in both science and practice.
At 8D, we support researchers in integrating a design approach into their work, from project design to creative product development and process supervision. This participatory methodologies help solve complex, human-centered issues and embed research results sustainably in society.
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