A father's ingenious approach to supporting his autistic son has led to him being named as a finalist for a prestigious award.
In 2017, Ronaldo Lima Cohin Ribeiro, then a computer science student living in Brazil, was trying to find ways to help Lucas, now 12, who had an autism diagnosis.
This led to the creation of an app that helps children with autism and other neurodivergent conditions. Fast forward to this year and Mr Ribeiro has been selected as a finalist for the Zayed Sustainability Prize for creating the Jade app.
What started as a project to help Mr Ribeiro, 42, graduate from university has evolved into a vital tool for families across the world.
“I was a father of a seven-year-old autistic child,” Mr Ribeiro told The National. "As a data scientist and a father, I saw firsthand how limited the tools were for early diagnosis and personalised support. That personal experience became my mission: to build technology that could truly understand each child’s unique way of learning.
“When my son was very young, I noticed how traditional evaluations failed to capture his real abilities. In structured environments, he would struggle, but when playing with puzzles or digital games his intelligence and logic were clear.”
Mr Ribeiro, who now lives in Abu Dhabi, started to consider how many more children had been misunderstood because tools at the time could not adapt to their way of thinking.
“That moment changed everything, I understood that early cognitive screening shouldn’t be intimidating or rigid; it should be playful, accessible, and rooted in empathy," he said.
“Through artificial intelligence and gamified cognitive activities, Jade transforms play into measurable insights. Our goal is to make assessment and intervention more accessible, faster and engaging, for families and schools.”
Prized asset
Developing the app has led to Mr Ribeiro being recognised in the health category of the Zayed Sustainability Prize.
There are six categories to the prize: Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High Schools. There was a record number of submissions for the latest awards, now in their 17th year.
Organisers received 7,761 entries from 173 countries for the 2026 event. Winners will be announced at the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony on January 13, during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Five category winners will each receive $1 million, while six high schools will be awarded $150,000 each to implement or expand their sustainability projects.
Personalised engagement
The Jade app features more than 1,500 game-based activities that capture real-time behavioural data, generating detailed reports that highlight a child’s strengths and area for improvement, Mr Ribeiro added.
“This helps to monitor progress, personalise learning strategies and identify early signs of autism," he said.
As children play structured games, the system collects thousands of data points on eye-tracking patterns, attention shifts, decision-making behaviour, response speed and problem-solving strategies.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is used to detect early markers of atypical development, learning challenges and strengths.
“Jade uses AI not to replace human care but to empower it bringing clarity to families, efficiency to clinicians and educators,” Lucas's father said. “Jade requires only 30 minutes of gameplay per week, works on standard devices and is available in multiple languages.”
Best in class
Mr Ribeiro said working closely with schools and organisations in the UAE had helped him to develop the app in a bid to reach a wider audience.
“Operating within the UAE’s ecosystem, through programmes and partnerships with schools in Abu Dhabi, has given us access to a community that truly believes in using innovation to serve humanity,” he said.
The government’s support for start-ups and social enterprises inspires us to design solutions that are not only effective but culturally adaptive and globally scalable.
“From the UAE, we’ve expanded our reach to Brazil, Portugal and the UK, exporting not only our technology but also the UAE’s philosophy of progress through empathy.”
The process combines cultural immersion with scientific validation, he added. “We bring in local experts, educators, psychologists and therapists to ensure that Jade’s games, visuals and language align with local values and learning goals.
"This approach allows our AI models to remain accurate while our content feels familiar and respectful to each community.”
Honeymoonish
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 171 points
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP) 151
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP) 136
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing) 107
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 83
6. Sergio Perez (Force India) 50
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 45
8. Esteban Ocon (Force India) 39
9. Carlos Sainz (Torro Rosso) 29
10. Felipe Massa (Williams) 22
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
Company%20profile
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if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
