These new sensors will help track movements of children with developmental disabilities

Over the years scientists and experts have proved that children who are born prematurely tend to have developmental disorders. Most of them have a neuromotor or cognitive developmental disability that can affect their day to day lives in many ways. But now, a group of scientists from the United States have introduced something unique. A set of non-toxic and wearable sensors have been invented that can be attached to the hand of the child. The sensors will monitor how the child holds things and the force in which they hold it. This is a way of monitoring, measuring and recording the development of the child which will be of great help to parents and caregivers.

There are various kinds of developmental disorders that are commonly seen in children. Some of the most common ones are autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cerebral palsy to name a few. Even though these disorders have got nothing to do with a child’s premature birth, the new sensors is expected to be helpful to them as well.

The new sensors are made from various solutions that are children friendly as well. Unlike earlier devices that were bulky or strong, these ones can be easily used by children. The design of sensors is also in such a way that it gets along well with children.

But parents are doubtful about how successful this new sensors is going to be due to many reasons. One of the main reasons is that the sensor has been tested for over 20 minutes only in the hands of adults and not children.

In fact children with a developmental disorder like autism crawls, sits and stands just like every other child until the age of three years. Early diagnosis and early intervention are very important. But this new sensor might be a little complicated for children. Even the researchers have not yet tried and tested it on a child with a developmental disability. Hence, I do not know if something like this is going to be successful. But if it does, it will be a great help- Smrithi Rajesh, Parent of child with autism

One of the main drawbacks of the sensor is that it measures only the movement of the child and not the force. In fact, knowing the force is extremely important in diagnosing neuromotor and cognitive developmental disabilities.

“We live in a world where new technologies are introduced every time. I heard that a new mind reading app is going to be introduced. Hence, a new sensor to detect movements of children with developmental disabilities is a great thing. At the same time, parents and caregivers must ensure that there are no side effects for this. Usually, it is a tedious job to make a disabled child wear something on their hand for a long time. So they must also be made aware of the technology that they are going to use”, says Sharda Ram, Founder, Arambh.

For now, let us wait until the sensor is going to be introduced in India. Only then will we get to know how well it benefits children with developmental disabilities.

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