  Coleman Initiative Focuses on People with Severe Cognitive Disabilities
Faculty from the College of Engineering and Applied Science are seen increasingly at the CU Health Sciences Center in Denver collaborating with medical faculty on joint bioengineering projects. Likewise, clinicians from the CU medical school are more and more often looking to the College of Engineering for solutions to difficult problems. This fall, CU engineering faculty again met with colleagues from the School of Medicine and headed to Aspen, Colorado, to join computer science professionals Bill and Claudia Coleman in launching a new initiative in assistive technology. Dubbed the Coleman Initiative, the effort is aimed at developing technology — primarily computer software, hardware and web-based technologies — to assist people with severe cognitive disabilities, as well as their families and the broad community working in this area. This includes people who have Down Syndrome, Fragile X and severe autism, as well as their teachers, caregivers, and those working to provide technological support. Twenty-six people attended the Aspen workshop, including many internationally recognized experts in the field of cognitive disabilities, technology and policy experts, and industry representatives. The two-day event was devoted to bringing the clinical and medical research results and perspectives to the computer science team. Participants included Sally J. Rogers, professor of psychiatry and director of Autism and Developmental Disabilities Services at JFK Partners; David Patterson, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics and president/senior scientist at the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute; Gerhard Fischer, computer science professor and director of the Center for LifeLong Learning and Design; and Clayton Lewis, professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science. CU President Elizabeth Hoffman, who is interested in the multi-disciplinary project and its opportunities, also attended with her husband, economist Brian Binger. "The meeting went very well. It brought together the rich resources of the Health Sciences Center and the Boulder campus to develop an understanding of the needs of the severely cognitively disabled and their extended community," said Michael Lightner, associate dean and professor of electrical and computer engineering who is heading up the initiative. Although just getting under way, the initiative is likely to encompass activities ranging from advancing our knowledge of cognitive disabilities to improving information sharing to developing new assistive devices, both physical and virtual, to support the community of the cognitively disabled.
The project initially grew out of work being done in the college's Center for LifeLong Learning and Design, where researchers are investigating ways to use computer-based technology to support lifelong learning, community building, and the construction of shared knowledge. The Colemans, who were introduced to the college through a friend, found a match for their long-time interest in supporting the community of the cognitively disabled. "Our global objective is to develop an ongoing coordinated research and development activity to support those with disabilities, and in particular, those who traditionally have little voice or visibility in the national agenda," the Colemans wrote in their gift agreement with the CU Foundation. Lifelong innovators in both software and hardware technologies who recently founded the middleware company BEA Systems, the Colemans have committed some of their resources to focus attention and research on this particular community. However, a key component of the vision is to develop techniques and technologies that also have potential for use by wider communities. Launched as a three-year project, the initiative is expected to gain momentum and continue as a longer-term effort as new opportunity projects are identified and developed. By combining clinical expertise in cognitive disabilities with the technological know-how of the engineering college, there's no telling what can be done.  Engineering Home |
