One way to facilitate knowledge exchange, which may benefit researchers and users beyond project years, is to collaborate with projects and organisations that address similar societal challenges.
While TeNDER’s integrated care model focuses on people affected by Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cardiovascular diseases, the results of the project and its assistive technology system may contribute to the development of alternatives for other types of patients.
Fundación Querer uses the benefits of ICT-based technology to support children and adolescents affected by neurological disorders. Founded in 2016, the organisation offers educational resources and conducts research and awareness-raising campaigns.
El cole de Celia y Pepe
One of Fundación Querer’s core educational projects is El cole de Celia y Pepe, a school that supports students with severe language and communication difficulties that stem from neurological disorders. The programme runs for 11 months in Madrid. It offers individualised attention, involves parents, and aims to develop greater autonomy in students.
Recently, Fundación Querer partnered with the Grammar & Cognition lab, led by Dr. Wolfram Hinzen (Pompeu Fabra University), to research language disorders. The study will map language disorders in relation to cognition.
Their method combines the (1) elaboration of a comprehensive behavioural profile; and (2) a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) component. The aim is to “profile language behaviorally across the different populations available in this school and study [the] connections and disconnections between linguistic and non-linguistic cognitive profiles that can feed into new educational approaches and tests.”
Adapting to support students
During the COVID-19 pandemic, El cole de Celia y Pepe has not only continued to support its students, but it has also created online access to resources for children with special needs across the world.
Both TeNDER and Fundación Querer demonstrate how ICT-based tools and digital technologies, when done right, can help all walks of life.
