... your child is autistic ...
It all began with this sentence ... devastating, capable of opening a deep wound in the soul, incurable, capable of generating a sense of helplessness and bewilderment never felt before.
What can we do now? What care should we follow? What medicine can we give him to make him heal?
We all know the answer well
"Andy" is a 15-year-old autistic boy, non-verbal, my son. In these 15 years I have got to know a world alien to me, autism. From this long experience I have found that we parents belong to two distinct categories: those who resign themselves and those who want to act: I belong to the second category. "Andy's Project" was not born to rationalize the "apparently immutable" condition of "Andy" or to have a purpose to satisfy the sense of helplessness that autism is able to generate, but because I realized that it can be done more, by joining forces we can achieve better results.
The world of autism is a jungle! Starting from the WHO, up to the parents, everything that is done is subordinated to politics and economic interests, without forgetting the scammers who speculate on our children's. Ogni genitore vorrebbe vedere il proprio figlio in salute e realizzato nella vita, questo vale anche per noi genitori che apparteniamo alla categoria, che io definisco, "the army of the invisible": tutte le persone "disabili" che la società preferisce emarginare, non vedere.
The time has come to change the system, the time has come to act.
I have an IT company (digitalCode Sagl) that has always dealt with Information Technology (personally I have been programming since 1985) and I decided to invest time and money to create "Andy's Project" aimed at providing concrete help to autistic people through modern IT devices.
All this comes from my personal experiences gained in the last 15 years: information fragmentation, inadequate tools and conservative / obsolete policies are the basis of my decision to create software and hardware dedicated to the world of disability.
Trivially, about 10 years ago, being my non-verbal son, and I am a computer scientist, I provided "Andy" with a tablet capable of allowing him to communicate with the outside world, a revolution. As in the non-disabled children, even in "Andy" the use of the tablet is not only attractive, but has brought enormous benefits on a cognitive level.
A success! At that time "Andy" was attending an internationally accredited rehabilitation center. Enthusiastic about the success of using the tablet, I proposed the use of the Tablet with an augmented communication tool to the rehabilitation center.
The answer I got was incredible, a cold shower: They didn't want to use it, not even parallel to traditional augmented communication (the classic pcl cards) ... In short, I insisted and in the end "Andy" used the tablet. Today, the tablet is used regularly for augmentative communication in rehabilitation centers.
And what about the "rehabilitation center / parents" information, information in general? Absolutely fragmented and incomplete, functional and subordinated only to the personal will of the operators !!
Let's start building "Andy's Project".
"Andy's Project" is a private initiative developed by my IT company: digitalCode Sagl.
"Andy's Project" IS NOT for profit!
The products being developed for "Andy's Project" are funded by digitalCode, private donations and corporate sponsorships across multiple industries.
The funds are raised exclusively by "digitalCode Sagl" and are entirely used to expand and improve the entire project, always guaranteeing the free availability of all software.
The whole project is realized thanks also (and above all) to the "Volunteers": people who have decided to dedicate part of their time to the project, making their skills available to improve "Andy's Project", (for me) real Heroes !
"Andy's Project" must be used by everyone, free of charge, without advertising and without additional costs!
This is the only way we can talk about willingness to help disabled people!
Be wary and let us know who contacts you pretending to be collaborators of the project!
The official communication channel of the project is only on the website andysproject.org.
If you want to be contacted, use only the request form on andysproject.org.
The mission of "Andy's Project" is to make life better for people with autism. An initiative that is ambitious to say the least, considering the resignation that hovers around this world, amplified by the sense of helplessness ...
Every person involved in the world of autism seeks answers that never arrive, seeks comfort in social groups, information on the internet, creates groups, associations, in short, tries to be able to do something positive to improve the conditions of autistic people; very commendable, but the back of the coin is a fragmentation of information, confusion that generates even more questions, creating fertile ground for those who want to take advantage of this condition and finally, manages to obtain very little (even if it is still a remarkable result compared to the do nothing). The answer is simple! Let's come together and create an effective information and discussion channel worldwide, involving professionals who care about the cause and exercising their profession with passion (geneticists, researchers, neuropsychiatrists, etc.), sharing new ideas to create support products effective, their experiences, but above all I turn to rehabilitation centers because they can be the amplifier of the project, being at the forefront in fighting autism and above all they have to deal with the hindrance of bureaucracy, politics, economic interests every day more or less personal and the immobility / conservationism that often afflicts the professionals who support them.
To improve we must be honest with ourselves and realize that in the end, unfortunately and often, not enough is being done, following obsolete and conservative rehabilitation models. I don't criticize what rehabilitation is today, but I'm sure most people have realized that more can be done and the current results can be better, be more effective.
Day by day
I observed and analyzed "Andy's" daily routine, his strengths to amplify and his weaknesses to strengthen. The starting point was automatic: the game.
The Video Games market is very ruthless, often resulting in the birth and death of a game developer company, overnight, so niche products for people with disabilities are consequently expensive and often do not achieve their intended purpose for the lack of in-depth interaction with the world of autism.
I do not criticize this policy, I can understand it, but it does not have the primary objective of improving the lives of autistic people ... it is a side consequence.
The puzzle game certainly has multiple interactive components with autistic people: it engages them, makes them think, satisfies them.
Analyzing the current "Puzzle" games on the market, I immediately realized that there was no real game aimed at the purpose set by "Andy's Project", so I decided to develop "Puzzle Classic", with very specific specifications:
For more details, visit the page dedicated to "Puzzle Classic"
There are many initiatives that I would like to start, but let's take it one step at a time.
To know and stay updated on present and future projects, visit the "Road Map" section
"Andy's Project" exists thanks to the free time made available by volunteers (myself included) who work in many fields to carry out the entire project.
If you want to participate too, visit the "Volunteers" section
In order to broaden the horizons of "Andy's Project" it is necessary to raise money ... a lot of money (the business world does not allow "donations" if it does not have a strong return of some kind). Currently "Andy's Project" uses the IT infrastructures entirely financed by digitalCode Sagl. I would like to create a "permanent" staff that can work full time on the project, considering the final purpose: "Create FREE products". To do this we need constant donations, even minimal: unity is strength.
If you want to support us with a donation, visit the "Donations" section
Whether or not you agree with what I said or the philosophy of the project, thank you for taking the time to read "Andy's Project".
Now you know, now you know the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you
Armando Olivieri