Wearable tech revolutionizes lives of children with autism in Türkiye

Wearable technology is revolutionizing children's lives, particularly offering promising solutions for children with autism and speech difficulties, aimed at enhancing the quality of life for both kids and their families.

In recent years, wearable tech has become integral to our lives, especially in health and safety, with smart textiles enabling stronger connections between families and their children.

Merve Aydıner, a prominent entrepreneur in Türkiye, is gaining attention both domestically and internationally with her smart textile projects. After completing her undergraduate studies in Textile Engineering at Istanbul Technical University and a master's in design at Domus Academy in Milan, Aydıner began working on smart textiles, with her first project selected among the top 100 most creative projects at the London International Creative Contest.

Aydıner has provided consulting for various companies in Europe and established a team in Türkiye to work on smart textile projects. Over the past three years, her efforts have led to winning the EU Worth Partnership Project award, and she has also been recognized in a women's entrepreneurship program. Currently, she is developing projects in various sectors, including automotive, that enable the monitoring of personal health data.

Aydıner's technologies serve as a beacon of hope for children with autism and speech difficulties. She explains the motivation behind her project: "A mother of an autistic child wrote on social media: 'I love my child very much, but I don't understand if my child loves me.' This situation is really difficult for parents. Children can't express their feelings, complicating communication. Wearable technologies play a key role in overcoming this challenge. These smart textiles can track children's emotional states, helping families better understand their feelings."

Smart textiles developed by Turkish entrepreneurs not only help children participate more comfortably in social environments but also monitor their overall health by tracking health data. Aydıner explains the technology: "We can gather movement data, pulse data, and monitor breathing and chronic conditions... Think of it like a live recording device. Once artificial intelligence is integrated, this data starts to make sense."

This enables parents to learn about their children's stress levels, sleep patterns, and even how weather conditions may affect their health. This technology solidifies communication between children and parents, especially in cases like autism, ensuring safety.

As Aydıner states, "While we can sometimes understand people's reactions by looking at their faces, we cannot analyze some responses from children.

These smart textiles can detect alarm states from the nervous system and heart data, sending notifications to authorized individuals." This feature is a significant advantage for ensuring children's safety and allowing for early intervention by parents.

Significant strides are being made in smart textiles in Türkiye, showcasing the country's innovation power and paving the way for the international spread of these technologies.

With great potential in health, these textiles provide solutions to various health issues, particularly for children with autism. As Aydıner expresses, "The most beautiful aspect of wearable technology is its health-related side, and Türkiye is truly producing remarkable work in this field."