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In Our Schools: Jefferson native using games to help kids with disabilities
An Olympic tournament for foster kids

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Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

In Our Schools: Jefferson native using games to help kids with disabilities

Posted: 05 Apr 2010 01:22 AM PDT

Bryan Rabin imagines that one day he will help build an artificial eye.

That's why the Jefferson High School graduate went back to school after completing his undergraduate degree at Rutgers University's engineering school three years ago, taking courses that will lead to a biomedical engineering major.

"It would be incredible to allow someone who's never seen to be able to see," Rabin, 28, a Rutgers post-graduate student, said in a telephone interview on Thursday.

While prosthetic eyes are probably a long way off, Rabin said he's now working at Rutgers on an imaging system to detect cancer by examining cell mitochondria. And he recently completed a project with the Rutgers Tele-Rehabilitation Institute to create games to help children with cerebral palsy gain hand dexterity.

Rutgers announced last month the results of a trial of three teenagers with cerebral palsy, conducted with the Indiana University School of Medicine, showing improvements in various activities involving dexterity and strength. The Tele-Rehabilitation Institute's mission is to use technology to allow patients to do physical therapy at home and to be monitored from a distance.

"We're trying to do something new, that's never been done," said Greg Burdea, director of the Tele-Rehabilitation Institute.

Rabin, a 1999 Jefferson High graduate, teamed with another student and created a system using the PlayStation 3 console and a gaming glove. That was based on another system using an X-Box that had been developed at the Institute several years ago.

The students modified the console's software and installed a Linux operating system to make it work. Then they created games to get teenagers to use their hands in a way that would help with dexterity. In one game, teens squeeze their hands to wipe away pixels and reveal photographs of pictures of their favorite TV shows.

"Parents sent in the pictures," Rabin said.

In another game, teens open and close their hands to play a basketball game. Because the trial was conducted in Indiana, players were depicted as wearing Indiana University uniforms, which caused an unexpected problem.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

An Olympic tournament for foster kids

Posted: 04 Apr 2010 11:22 PM PDT

Kids from foster-care and group homes in six states will gather for a week of athletic competition in June at Ramapo College in Mahwah as the H'Olympics comes to North Jersey for the first time in its two-decade history.

Sponsored by the National Fellowship of Child Care Executives, the event offers children between the ages of 11 and 18 the chance to develop "a sense of pride," said Janis Nicolosi-Endo, a spokeswoman for the Youth Consultation Service in East Orange, which will be sending teams to the games.

"It's such a great experience for these kids," she added. "It's gives them a whole different perspective. It gives them the chance to think, 'I can be just like other kids.' "

YCS operates group homes (including three in Hackensack and one in Paterson), special-educational programs (including the Fort Lee Educational Center) and a range of other programs for children across the state.

It's looking for sponsors to help underwrite the cost of sending teams to compete in the H'Olympics (the "H" stands for Home).

"These kids play their hearts out, and we want people to come and cheer for them, so we want to bring the children from our schools. But the problem is: Who's paying for the buses?" Nicolosi-Endo said.

"We want to get the kids track sneakers and basketball sneakers. We have to pay for the referees and the uniforms, even to make sure there are water bottles for everyone. And we want to hand out medals at the end. But our agency is suffering from funding setbacks just like every other non-profit."

The H'Olympics features track and field, basketball, volleyball, softball and swimming.

"We also wanted to have a non-athletic event, because not every child is into sports," Nicolosi-Endo added. "So we told our programs to submit art works and the best will be on display at the Bradley Center on the campus."

YCS also hopes to provide the kids — from Missouri, Texas, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey — with a recreational event, perhaps a boat tour around Manhattan.

"We're aiming for that," Nicolosi-Endo said. "But everything depends on the money."

Information on the H'Olympics, including a video about the competition and the kids who take part, is available at the YCS Web site, ycs.org/holympics.

To become a sponsor, contact HOlympics@ycs.org or call Kathy Mongon at 201-678-1312.

The H'Olympics will be held June 14 through 18.

E-mail: lipman@northjersey.com

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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Monday, April 5, 2010