Working on an app to support ASD

[Crossbreed]

I think I found some.

(Her abs look great, but her pecs are a bit flabby...)

 

[Tom]

(Her abs look great, but her pecs are a bit flabby...)

Perfectly normal. It's that upper body strength thing.

 

[JoSchi]

I think I found some.

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Can I get my donuts now? I'm sure your financially astute friend can figure out a way to transfer funds directly to Dunkin Donuts. Maybe set up a trust fund in my name. Don't want to be a bother but the sooner you do the sooner I can start getting to work on those Abs.

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Look Tom, if you're not interested in sharing experience or whatever - not a problem, it's your free choice. But please, don't try to be super funny and just disturbing this topic. I'm sure you can be a super funny guy and a good entertainer. But this is quite a serious thing for us, where we want to build something. So please, when I do the new (more clear) thread, try to insert something serious. Not meant in a bad or ironic way.

Regards,

Joel

 

[Tom]

Look Tom, if you're not interested in sharing experience or whatever - not a problem, it's your free choice. But please, don't try to be super funny and just disturbing this topic. I'm sure you can be a super funny guy and a good entertainer. But this is quite a serious thing for us, where we want to build something. So please, when I do the new (more clear) thread, try to insert something serious. Not meant in a bad or ironic way.

Regards,

Joel

I can be serious. You aren't a participant of our community. You join looking for free assistance to develop a marketable project. You of course say it is all intended to help people on the spectrum. Do you know how many times we get things like this and researchers and students working on their degrees all asking for assistance and never coming back once they get what they want. So yes when I see these things I can take a humorous direction because essentially you are soliciters, spam, strangers knocking on the door wanting donations of time, ideas, and effort. Humor is better then yelling or siccing my Chihuhuas on you.

 

[JoSchi]

I can be serious. You aren't a participant of our community. You join looking for free assistance to develop a marketable project. You of course say it is all intended to help people on the spectrum. Do you know how many times we get things like this and researchers and students working on their degrees all asking for assistance and never coming back once they get what they want. So yes when I see these things I can take a humorous direction because essentially you are soliciters, spam, strangers knocking on the door wanting donations of time, ideas, and effort. Humor is better then yelling or siccing my Chihuhuas on you.

If it makes you feel better I can provide you with my diagnosis via pm, the link to the company site, etc. No, I‘m not a real member like you are. It‘s quite difficult for me. I try to read threads, maybe give tips to some where I have experience, but it‘s not easy to me.
And yes, it has to be marketable, because to build something like this costs a lot of money. You need a whole team, developers, experts (medical, technical, etc). But my main purpose is to help. Might be a bit selfish, but I actually need help in a lot of ways. And I‘m missing a lot, because this market is underdeveloped. So instead of attacking me, you can contact me via pm at every moment. I‘ll even show you my real identity, because I don‘t care about it. I understand some of your concerns and a part of your anger too.
P.S: helping students is never bad, even if they don‘t come back. One day they might be helpful to this subjects.

Regards,

Joel

 

[JoSchi]

And yes, I might never be a super valuable member like you are, based on your profile and your activity. The only thing I know is that I won‘t leave. I found some interesting things/threads that were kind of helpful and I enjoy reading them.
But attacking people is never the way, even if you don‘t like their approach. It will give people a way to attack „us“ back. Your experiences might have been bad, but at the end of the day, no one forces you to answer or to help them. I have ASD too, so I have all the right to be here.
This here is just a small part of „market research“. We are interviewing people, we speak to other founders, investors, etc. But it‘s important to me to hear opinions from other people that I do not know or see and might come from completely different countries.

 

[Tom]

So you would prefer I go back to joking?

 

[Judge]

This was actually what I meant. That people tell me what they‘re struggling with an where they think an app could help. My approach here wasn‘t the best or not clear enough, I‘ll correct it with a new thread this weekend.
Of course it‘s vague now. For now it‘s not important what form of ASD you have. We only want to hear with what people are struggling, ideas etc. An app could technically involve more than only one form of ASD. I could be related to a test or whatever to determine what part of the app will be for this person.
We‘re doing more things ofc. We will interview people, meet a lot of other people that are already trying to address this type of apps or techs, etc.

I‘ll start a new thread on Saturday or Sunday, maybe with clearer informations
Thanks for your idea, it‘s written down

That would be a start. To give us a much narrower explanation of what kind of functions such an app would have. But to keep it in perspective that a piece of software is not likely to be a solution to one's autism, but rather a tool of sorts to address a few specific problems.

That said, let's hear what you have in mind.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I have worked with people with autism for 20+ years (I am also autistic), so this suggestion is based on some of the needs I saw that might be helped by an app.

One client was nonverbal and mildly intellectually disabled. Not physically disabled at all. He would wander around his neighborhood, but sometimes people called the cops because they thought he was stealing or some such thing. When the police came, he would not speak, nor respond to their directions. He would be arrested, sometimes brutally.

For him, I would like an app that could talk to the people he came into contact with. An app that said, outloud, I am so and so, I am autistic. If there are problems please call this phone number. He was smart enough he could show a cell phone and an app to people and this would keep him safer.

So, in general, an app that would give other people some indication of what was needed in the event of an emergency.

Expanding from there, what about an app that would tell similar information (or whatever the autist wanted) when the autist has "shut down" or has developed selective mutism? An app that said, please leave me alone. I am ok. I just need some alone time. Or some version of that.

 

[Crossbreed]

When the police came, he would not speak, nor respond to their directions. He would be arrested, sometimes brutally.

If that is still a problem, see...

Autism Risk & Safety Management | Autism Training for Police

Autism Risk & Safety Management is the leading global voice on autism training for law enforcement and emergency responders.

autismriskmanagement.com

 

[JoSchi]

I have worked with people with autism for 20+ years (I am also autistic), so this suggestion is based on some of the needs I saw that might be helped by an app.

One client was nonverbal and mildly intellectually disabled. Not physically disabled at all. He would wander around his neighborhood, but sometimes people called the cops because they thought he was stealing or some such thing. When the police came, he would not speak, nor respond to their directions. He would be arrested, sometimes brutally.

For him, I would like an app that could talk to the people he came into contact with. An app that said, outloud, I am so and so, I am autistic. If there are problems please call this phone number. He was smart enough he could show a cell phone and an app to people and this would keep him safer.

So, in general, an app that would give other people some indication of what was needed in the event of an emergency.

Expanding from there, what about an app that would tell similar information (or whatever the autist wanted) when the autist has "shut down" or has developed selective mutism? An app that said, please leave me alone. I am ok. I just need some alone time. Or some version of that

Hello,

I know this kind of problem and it's already being addressed by some developpers. If he can use apps, there are some good apps that can be used by people that are not able to express themselves. It will be possible to "speak" to people over this app. They can express and say more or less anything by pushing buttons.
The problem here is, that this market would be super small for founders. So it could be an extension, but an app itself is super hard actually. The problem is that developping solutions cost quite a lot of money, so in this case it will not be interesting for investors (f.ex.) to push it. I'll still note it down in the "feature section" but can't promise anything. But yes, this is some kind of problem that sucks and it makes me angry just hearing about it.
Do you think he would be able to learn how to express himself with this kind of apps i mentionned?

Regards,

Joel

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

The problem I have seen with most of the apps and equipment like the dynavox is that they are too hard to program and too difficult for people to use. I have had the state authorize thousands of dollars for, for example, a dynavox, and the adult carers can't figure out how to use it. It takes hours and hours to program it to "talk" for the person who can't.

There is also Prolog 2go, an Apple program, but again it is difficult for people to use. Also the person needs a certain degree of fine motor control to use it. I have seen several autistic clients with this app and they have been unable to use it. I have heard of autists with normal intelligence who can use it. But we need something for autists who have impaired intellectual abilities too.

I was not talking about expressing oneself. I am talking about being able to press a "panic" type button that would tell people who are unaware of the disability what is going on.

 

[VictorR]

Here's an idea: some sort of site like TripAdvisor especially for the neurodiverse, where people could rate and write reviews of businesses and servers. For example, if I'm travelling and need to use an airport, hotel, supermarket, restaurant, hairdresser's, etc. it would be really useful to read reviews from an autistic person's point of view of the services I plan to use. I would like to know in advance how 'autism friendly' a place, store or service is: whether it's noisy, busy, overcrowded, etc. More information is always good and helpful when travelling. This could be an app or a website.

There's at least two such services in that market.

NeuroHub App Helps Map Sensory Friendly Places — Stories — AutismBC

When his daughter was diagnosed, Leo Lagnado created NeuroHub, a free app that allows autistic people to find sensory-friendly places.

www.autismbc.ca

A Review: New App Changes the Way Families Find Autism Friendly Businesses

These days it takes a little more than a village to find a place out in the world that would be enjoyable for your child with autism. So what’s a father from Pennsylvania to do when he’s looking for a safe and fun place to take his son? He creates an app so he can […]

www.autismparentingmagazine.com