**4.1 Problem**

Autism is defined by the Autism Society Of America (ASA) as: " a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication,

Towards Economical E-Learning Educational Environments for Physically Challenged Students 27

Fig. 8. Use Cases of ATB.

Fig. 9. Architecutre Diagram of ATB.

social interactions, and leisure or play activities. Also, children with such syndrome may harm themselves if they use new tools. According to teachers in the Autism center in Kuwait, a 13-year old autistic child swallowed 64 magnetic pieces while interacting with some lessons at the Autism center. It is not advised to have any tool around autistic children, which makes the educational process even harder.

Latest statistics show that about 1% of children is diagnosed with autism. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism. Government statistics suggest that autism is increasing annually. There is not established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Other research efforts noted that males are more vulnerable than girls. Current estimates indicate that in the United States alone, about 1.5% of young males are diagnosed with autism[10].

Studies in the United States during the 1990s have estimated prevalence rates of autism to be 2.0-7.0 per 1,000 children, an over tenfold increase compared to the 1980s. This suggests that autism is being identified and diagnosed much more in the community in recent years [11].

Autistic children suffer in both social and educational activities, according to a new study in the journal Neurology. In a recent study children with mild autism was compared to normal children regarding how to form words from letters. It was found that autistic children faced difficulty in forming words [12].

Autism is considered to be one of the most difficult developmental disabilities in the world. Parents of autistic children have hard time understanding their child and helping them to learn. Autistic children can't use any tools in their learning process as they can easily hurt themselves. As a result, teaching Autistic children involves many risks and concerns about children's safety. The learning material for autistic children is limited due to these constraints. Therefore, we aimed to provide a solution that consists of a projector and camera to help them learn in a new, safe and interesting way whether they're at home or at school. The students do not interact with the projector and the camera, rather they use their fingers to interact with a projected image of the screen.

Technology could be used to help autistic children by providing economically feasible solutions. In this section, we design a solution for autistic children to help them learn in a safe, creative and economically feasible method.

## **4.2 Solution**

ATB is a solution that helps Autistic children in their education process by enabling them to interact with the computer in a safe and secure way without using any tools. The child will be able to control computer applications through the projected screen on the wall using their fingertips only. In addition, we provide autistic children with educational applications that are designed to suit their educational needs. The applications teach basic math and matching.

#### **4.3 Use cases**

Users can interact with the system using the traditional mouse clicks events. The user can drag, click, switch between applications, open and close applications. The teacher could use the system similar to the child and also could do more by:


Fig. 8. Use Cases of ATB.

social interactions, and leisure or play activities. Also, children with such syndrome may harm themselves if they use new tools. According to teachers in the Autism center in Kuwait, a 13-year old autistic child swallowed 64 magnetic pieces while interacting with some lessons at the Autism center. It is not advised to have any tool around autistic

Latest statistics show that about 1% of children is diagnosed with autism. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism. Government statistics suggest that autism is increasing annually. There is not established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Other research efforts noted that males are more vulnerable than girls. Current estimates indicate that in the United States alone, about 1.5%

Studies in the United States during the 1990s have estimated prevalence rates of autism to be 2.0-7.0 per 1,000 children, an over tenfold increase compared to the 1980s. This suggests that autism is being identified and diagnosed much more in the community in recent years [11]. Autistic children suffer in both social and educational activities, according to a new study in the journal Neurology. In a recent study children with mild autism was compared to normal children regarding how to form words from letters. It was found that autistic children faced

Autism is considered to be one of the most difficult developmental disabilities in the world. Parents of autistic children have hard time understanding their child and helping them to learn. Autistic children can't use any tools in their learning process as they can easily hurt themselves. As a result, teaching Autistic children involves many risks and concerns about children's safety. The learning material for autistic children is limited due to these constraints. Therefore, we aimed to provide a solution that consists of a projector and camera to help them learn in a new, safe and interesting way whether they're at home or at school. The students do not interact with the projector and the camera, rather they use their

Technology could be used to help autistic children by providing economically feasible solutions. In this section, we design a solution for autistic children to help them learn in a

ATB is a solution that helps Autistic children in their education process by enabling them to interact with the computer in a safe and secure way without using any tools. The child will be able to control computer applications through the projected screen on the wall using their fingertips only. In addition, we provide autistic children with educational applications that are designed to suit their educational needs. The applications teach basic math and

Users can interact with the system using the traditional mouse clicks events. The user can drag, click, switch between applications, open and close applications. The teacher could use

children, which makes the educational process even harder.

of young males are diagnosed with autism[10].

fingers to interact with a projected image of the screen.

the system similar to the child and also could do more by:

safe, creative and economically feasible method.

difficulty in forming words [12].

**4.2 Solution** 

matching.

**4.3 Use cases** 

 Activating the system Defining markers

And Setting Calibration Points

Fig. 9. Architecutre Diagram of ATB.

Towards Economical E-Learning Educational Environments for Physically Challenged Students 29

calibration points through selecting "SetCalibrationPoints()". This will set the dimensions of the whiteboard. Doing this process will convert the whiteboard to a smart interactive board. As a result, the user or the admin can interact with the whiteboard through hand gestures.

So, he or she can run the Educational Applications to "chooseSubject()".

Fig. 10. Class diagram of ATB.

Fig. 11. Sequence Diagram of using ATB.
