One of the emphases of the IDEAL Program is equipping students with disabilities and learning difficulties with employable skills, after enabling them to acquire new abilities.
In the second semester of the program the administrators and educators introduced a new topic and activity known to be of great value to children and youth. IDEAL became a partner of 3Poli Robotics, an educational institution that aims to develop scientific interests among students, and to identify talents and inner potential when it comes to robotics i.e. the ability to assemble and program robots and smart machines.
Students enrolled in the IDEAL Program were given the chance to learn about robotics using approaches that are customized to cater for the needs of students with special needs, including learning disabilities, communications disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disabilities, among others.
Activities like building robots, coding, programming, etc. are known not only to enable individuals at the level of learning and education, but they are also very effective when it comes to giving the learners a new perspective, whereby they could end up gaining confidence in themselves. Furthermore, learning robotics is very helpful at the level of enabling learners to become less shy and less frustrated, and to enhance their social skills and self-esteem.
The approach to robotics in this activity was adapted to the learners’ needs and abilities. The trainers used simple language and offered learners alternative channels of communication via the tablet, which are known to be preferred among youth when it comes to expressing ideas, thoughts and needs.
