Dad is an inventor
«Here is the video game for autistic children»
Armando Olivieri and his Andy's Project which has been running for two years and is inspired by the son «We want to help with the rehabilitation process»
A dad, a computer scientist, lots of megabytes of love for his son. This is the story, made in Montano Lucino, of the creation of free video games and programs for autistic people.
Armando Olivieri turns 50 this year, has a job that she loves, since 1985 she has been operating in field of information technology, he has also developed several projects with international partners, lives in the village with his family, a son of 19 years one of 15, Andrea. The period of the lockdown has also had a beautiful part, the one through which Armando carried out the project of Andy's project, a project born for the love of him Andrea who as its sole purpose it has that of help autistic people.
For pc, smartphone and tablet
«I released the first game
for computers, smartphones and tablets: “Puzzle Classic” - says the
IT dad - It's possible
download it for free from andysproject.org. I hope it will be of help to people
autistic and I also hope that in
many can share this project, games and software
they can be used at the rehabilitation level. In these years I
I realized that autism is a
underwater world, on the edge
of society. But I am convinced
that the world is changing, however, I am having many contacts also at an international level,
misses to connect the dots. I go
forward, without problems. And above all with the desire to delete the phrase “we work with
what we have ”, which often
in rehabilitation facilities it is pronounced with resignation».
The impulse that led to the
creation of Andy's Project is
closely related to the history of
Armando and his son Andrea,
it is love that gave birth 2
years ago this project. «I started providing the first tablet ad
Andrea 12 years ago, with my company I am fully financing the
project and in the lockdown are
managed to launch the program
with the first video game, a puzzle. I have developed it for any IT platform and it is
free. I am involving several disabled centers and we are
playing another video game with someone who specializes in
alternative augmentative communication (i.e. the use of
symbols to communicate in an alternative and augmentative way with respect to the standards of the current language)».
Among the projects that are taking place
developing there is in fact "Snow White Lives in Japan", a video game with an interactive fairy tale
with a high rehabilitation component, able to generate emotions and interaction with the person
who is using it.
«Created a network of people» «We are a bit of a milestone - adds Olivieri - it doesn't exist nothing like it right now, the disruptive force is in the fact that it is this project is was created by a network of people who experience the problem starting from an internal vision, people who have passion, desire to change things, to do». Among the collaborations of Andy's Project there is also the psychology faculty of the University of Basel.
Paola Mascolo