In using this website, you are deemed to have read and agreed to the following terms and conditions:

“Client”, “You” and “your” refers to you, the person accessing this website and accepting the terms and conditions. “The site” refers to www.vis-a-vis.org. “The program” refers to the Vis-à-Vis educational program. “The university” refers to the University of Geneva, the domain where the website was created and “the foundation” refers to the Fondation Pôle Autisme, where the website is currently housed.

The site was created by Bronwyn Glaser, Ph.D., and Stephan Eliez, M.D., researchers at the University of Geneva with the goal of offering a computerized tool for remediating socio-emotional cognitive skills and working memory in individuals presenting socio-emotional or cognitive delay, as in the case of individuals with autism or a neurogenetic syndrome. The program consists of nine games and one teaching module completed together as a package over 48 sessions during 12 weeks (four times per week).

When choosing to use the program, the representing adult declares that he/she has intentionally read, understood, and accepted the present conditions without reserve. Every legal minor using the site needs initial agreement from his/her legal guardian, who accepts the terms and conditions of the site on the minor’s behalf.

1. Objective

The present document has the goal of defining the terms and conditions according to which the university and the foundation make the program accessible to its users. The user should be made aware of the fact that the foundation reserves the right to modify and update the present document at any moment.

2. The program

The program, called Vis-à-Vis, gives users access to a teaching module and to different games carefully designed by a research group from the university.

The program was developed for children and adolescents ages 7 to 16. The program includes 9 games and one teaching module to be done in tandem with an adult. If an individual older than 16 years of age wishes to use the program, he/she should take under advisement that research on the program is based on younger individuals who completed four weekly sessions during twelve consecutive weeks in tandem with an adult.

The program was created for many different professionals in mind, including psychologists, speech and language therapists, teachers etc., as well as private users.

The university doesn’t accept any form of publicity (ads etc.) on the site. Each user contributes to the costs of maintaining the site by paying the amount specified in the rates and set according to the duration of the program and the services required.

Both the user and the foundation have the right to terminate a services agreement for any reason, including the ending of services that are already underway. No refunds shall be offered when the program has begun and is, for all intents and purposes, underway. Users can request a refund for money when they have paid for a program that has not been begun.

3. User responsibility

Accessing the site and the program, the user agrees to conform to the instructions and the terms of utilization.

Access to the site and to the program is accorded to a limited number of persons and is made secure by the creation of a user account protected by a user name and password. The user is responsible for protecting his/her user name and password, and for taking the necessary measures for avoiding any use or usurpation of the user account by a third party.

In the case of a violation of the terms and conditions or any type of abuse by the user, the foundation reserves the right to block access to the site and program. In this case, none of the site fees will be reimbursed.

4. University and Foundation responsibility

Use of the site and the program is based on the sole and entire responsibility of the user.

As a consequence of the limits of the law, the University of Geneva or the Fondation Pôle Autisme cannot, under any uncertain terms, be held responsible in the case of damage, direct or indirect, in any way, including loss of data, absence of results, loss of profit or clientele, affected material or immaterial property, resulting from using the site or the program.

The site is by design accessible 24 hours a day. However, access to the site and the program can be temporarily interrupted for a technical problem, maintenance or updates that ensure the smooth functioning of the site and the program.

The foundation is committed to protecting the site to the best of our ability against all abusive use by a third party or from potential computer viruses. The foundation cannot, however, guarantee that the server or the site will not be the object of digital pirating or exempt from a digital virus. As a result, the foundation cannot be held responsible for consequences associated with acts of pirating or in the case of contamination by a computer virus. It is up to the user to take the measures necessary to protect his/her own personal data, software, computers and other digital hardware from contamination by viruses circulating on the internet.

Nor can the foundation be held responsible in the case of a disrupted connection, power outage, interruption, or breakdown, technical failure, digital pirating, incorrect configuration or misuse of the user’s computer or of the telephone lines, or for any other unintentional circumstance associated with an individual user.

5. Disclaimer

The researchers at the university and the clinicians at the foundation involved in this project put the greatest possible care and attention developing the program.

However, neither the university nor the foundation can guarantee results from the program in any way, measurable or implied, especially in the form of cognitive or clinical changes, from using the site or program. Use of the program is the sole exclusive responsibility and the sole risk of the user.

6. Personal Data

In order to use the program and creating a user account, users are required to register and submit certain personal data to the foundation.

The foundation treats these personal data in a confidential manner and adheres strictly to Geneva law on the subjects of: public information, access to documents, and protection of personal data (LIPAD).

The foundation ensures, by organisational and appropriate technical terms, that users’ personal data will be protected against all unauthorized processing. Personal data are also saved in a secure database and coded by user name on the site’s server located on the university’s network (there is no custody of information by third parties) and thus access is strictly limited only to persons essential to the functioning of the site and program.

All communications with the user will be done by email, using a selected log-in by the user, or by telephone when the user specifically asks for a telephone consultation. Personal data will not be used in written communication between users and the foundation.

Personal data collected will not be sold or communicated to a third party, nor used by the university or the foundation for research, but only for the means of developing the site and the program according to the users’ needs.

The foundation reserves the right and will do everything within its power to take necessary measures to safeguard user confidentiality while transferring data via the internet. The user recognizes, however, that it is not possible to guarantee absolute security during the transfer of digital data. As a consequence, personal data are communicated under the sole and entire responsibility of the user. The foundation cannot be held responsible for unfortunate events that take place while data is being transferred by the user via internet, such as in the case of data loss or pirating of the communication by a third party.

7. Intellectual Property

The creators of the program are the sole owners of the intellectual property rights for the structure and the contents of the site and program.

The text, graphic elements, drawings, logos, photos, animated sequences with or without sound, and other documents or material on the site are, unless otherwise specified, property of the the creators. Accordingly, all reproduction, representation, adaptation, translation, and or transformation, partial or complete, or transfer to another site of any element from the site or program is prohibited.

The consultation and use of the site does not give any intellectual property right to the user for any part of the site or program.

All unauthorized use or reproduction of elements from the site or program can lead to judicial (civil or criminal) consequences.

8. Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

The present general conditions of use are subject to Swiss law. In the case of a lawsuit, Geneva courts are exclusively responsible.