The state secretary for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Marcos da Costa, said this Monday (29), at Unicamp, that the three state universities in São Paulo should be the center of an assistive technology development program and could contribute decisively in the formulation of public policies aimed at people with disabilities.
During a visit lasting more than four hours to the Barão Geraldo campus, the secretary visited the Center for Studies and Research in Rehabilitation “Prof. Dr. Gabriel OS Porto” (Cepre) and at the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Rehabilitation of the Locomotor System, at Hospital de Clínicas (HC). He also learned about the Program for Attention to Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pratea) and the Department of Adapted Physical Activity Studies, at the Faculty of Physical Education (FEF). “I leave here delighted,” said the secretary.
Marcos da Costa's visit to Unicamp takes place less than two months after the signing of a protocol of intentions between the state government and the Council of Rectors of São Paulo State Universities (Cruesp), which provides for the implementation and management of accessibility policies for disabled people. These policies, according to the agreement, should focus on the development of assistive technologies. In addition to the three universities, the Technological Research Institute (IPT) also participates in the project.
“The potential of this partnership is enormous. Joining forces with universities will certainly make a difference. I see that São Paulo can become the largest assistive technology center in Brazil and Latin America, at the very least”, stated the secretary in the meeting with the dean of Unicamp, professor Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles.
“The power of transformation from the union between the state and universities is gigantic”, assessed Costa, who was accompanied by the secretariat’s special advisor, Ignácio Poveda, professor Vera Capellini, president of the Unesp Accessibility and Inclusion Commission, and the manager of technology at IPT, Douglas Cavalcanti. “We need to make this issue a central theme in schools. In this way, we will be able to transform the state and, later, the country”, concludes the secretary.
In the state of São Paulo, there are approximately 3,4 million people with some type of disability, according to government data. “This collaboration was something that we had already been discussing, and we are willing to develop things together”, said the dean. “The idea is that all the knowledge generated here will have an even greater impact on society, not only in terms of influencing the training of people, but also in the development of technology and generation of knowledge”, he added.
“This collaboration is a two-way street. The role of public authorities — mayors, secretaries, governor — is essential in order to coordinate this group of actors. We are together in this challenge and we will do our part”, he guaranteed.
Meirelles said he is looking forward to the launch of a notice by Fapesp (Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo) both in the area of technology and public policy, aimed at people with disabilities. “We (the three universities) are thinking about issuing a joint notice, even to encourage collaboration,” he said.
Cepre
After a reception at the Rectory, the group visited the Center for Studies and Research in Rehabilitation which, 50 years ago, provides services in the area of sensory disabilities — visual impairment and deafness. Among other duties, he provides speech therapy, teaching sign language (Libras), diagnosis, habilitation, rehabilitation and screening.
Coordinated by professor Maria Fernanda Bagarollo, Cepre cThere are 27 outpatient clinics. It serves an average of 500 users per week, from different age groups. At Cepre, 20 teachers from different areas work, in addition to 12 other professionals, in a design that allows interdisciplinary assistance. The Center is housed in a building measuring more than a thousand m², with 30 treatment rooms — 20 of them for individual therapies and an external area for services with chairs, tables and a children's playground.
Cepre currently maintains at least a dozen research projects linked to assistance. These are assistance projects that include, for example, audiological diagnosis, adaptation of prostheses or teaching Portuguese as a second language to deaf children and young people. There are also assistance projects with community services that include music and art activities; early identification of visual impairment or assessment of functional vision in children with multiple disabilities.
Biomechanics Laboratory
The state secretary then visited the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Rehabilitation of the Locomotor System, at HC. Coordinated by professor Alberto Cliquet Junior, the laboratory works with the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries, paraplegics and quadriplegics, in some cases making it possible to return voluntary movements in the lower and upper limbs.
One of the laboratory's main lines of work is the technique of neuromuscular electrical stimulation, in which electrodes are placed on the surface of the patient's skin, therefore without the need for surgical intervention.
According to the professor, the mechanism directly activates the nervous system and, as a result, the patient relearns how to walk artificially — a type of locomotion that reproduces the body's own systems. “We have had cases here of people who started walking again 11 years after the injury occurred,” said the professor. Today, the laboratory has around 80 patients per week, on average. According to Cliquet, the country registers 14 thousand new patients with spinal cord injuries per year.
Silver
The delegation from the state secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities then visited Pratea. Opened approximately a year ago at Unicamp, the organization promotes the training of professionals in the areas of Education, Health and Social Assistance to identify those affected and carry out therapeutic interventions. Pratea assists in assessment, diagnosis and therapeutic planning, carries out research on autism and contributes to the development of public policies for the sector.
In April, when the protocol was signed with universities and IPT, the state government launched the Integrated State Plan, which aims to align, articulate and expand care services for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) throughout the state. The estimate is that around 460 thousand people will be served by the program.
Adapted Physical Activity
At the Faculty of Physical Education, the secretary learned about the work of the Department of Adapted Physical Activity. Marco da Costa watched a training session with wheelchair handball athletes.
Dean Antonio Meirelles drew attention to Unicamp's pioneering actions in this area. “Whenever I can, I highlight Unicamp’s work in the area of Adapted Physical Education. The first initiative, more than 20 years ago, was carried out by Unicamp, and, because of this, the University became a reference in relation to Paralympic sport in Brazil”, he said.
FEF maintains several lines of research that cover the area of sports and studies on specific groups, such as individuals with disabilities, overweight and obesity, people with chronic non-communicable diseases and the elderly.
Protocol of intent
Teaching advisor to the Rector's Office and one of the organizers of the visit, professor Roberto Donato recalled that the secretary's visit is in the context of the signing of a protocol of intentions between the universities and the state government, which aims to make the institutions of teaching, IPT and research bodies, in general, can contribute to the implementation of public policies aimed at both the education and health of this population, and in the area of assistive technologies.
“The idea of the visit was for the secretary to have greater knowledge of Unicamp’s potential to contribute to this protocol. He had contact with a large part of our production, which could serve as input for the construction of public policies. And, because of this, I consider the visit to be a success”, concluded the professor.