How one man's love for his son with autism led to Zayed Sustainability Prize selection

Father created app to help children with autism, which is now used around the world

Lucas, now 12, using the Jade app, for which his father, an Abu Dhabi resident, has received a Zayed Sustainability Prize nomination. Photo: Jade Autism

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.

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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.”

Ronaldo Lima Cohin Ribeiro, a Brazilian living in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Ronaldo Lima Cohin Ribeiro

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.

Ronaldo Lima Cohin Ribeiro and his son Lucas. Photo: Jade

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.”