iPads For Education
Tax deductible
Hello,
My name is Marie Duggan and I am the Founder of Technology For Autism Now, Inc. (TAN) I am also the parent of 6 children, my 3rd son was diagnosed with severe autism when he was 18 months old. He is 25 now. At the time there was no googling the web and the autism rates were 1 in10000 children. I was told my son was unteachable and unreachable and to institutionalize him and do myself a favor and get on with my life. He would never learn even the most mundane tasks and would never speak, be potty trained etc... I thought at that moment I was kicked in the stomach and felt myself feeling like I could not breathe. I refused to accept that. I started my non profit in 2010 and was a MassChallenge Global Finalist in 2013. I have started many successful autism initiatives, and have navigated a path for parents so that they never feel the way I did or hear those words that were said to me. Autism is now a household word. 21st century problems require 21st century solutions and with todays technology and living with severe autism 24/7, volunteering, advocating, and working at Children's Hospital Boston for many years in the Augmentative Communication Ctr/Autism Language Program I found a way to get through to my son, through trial and error I created a system that enabled him to communicate using pictures which later transferred over to an Assistive Technology Device and now with todays mobile technology we are going to be making a major difference in the lives of children with autism and their families. I have created an autism application which is based on the only scientifically evidence based method to teach children with autism (Applied Behavior Analysis) ABA, focused on these children's visual strengths, and the fact that these kids relate more to what I like to refer to as electronic screen media meaning any type of TV screen, computer, game stations, tablets, iPads, nintendo and so forth. Using this knowledge and watching my son progress over the years I finally had something that was working, I represented everything for him visually. Anyway, long story short I conducted our first pilot in Boston Public Schools and had astounding results with the children improving 72% overall. These were the children like mine, non verbal, behavioral, sensory and more in a 1 to 1 segregated classroom with no typical peers. We are planning our expanded pilot into BPS with a redeveloped app based on the feedback from the teachers in the first pilot. The app has built in data metrics that get sent to the cloud that provides a beautiful infographic of the unique cognitive processes of each individual child which can be shared via a dashboard in the cloud remotely with caregivers, parents, teachers, professionals, doctors etc so that everyone is on the same page. These data metrics are attracting attention all over the US and Internationally. I was invited to Mexico this year again after last years invitation by Carlos Slim Foundation he organized a group at Telmex and put a team together for me they took my iOS source code and translated and localized it into Spanish in addition to pulling together a team of developers to make it available on the android platform. We now have a symbol library of over 21k+ symbols in 14 languages and growing so that children can improve overall in engagement, communication, behavior, education and participation. By the time these children graduate high school they will be less costly on the school district as this application is cost effective, and takes a child through early diagnosis into adulthood. It is based on ABA, Visuals Supports, Video Modeling, Choice (by the child) Social Praise, Animation and Rewards. Can be easily customizable on the fly and is less socially stigmatizing and these kids can be cool just like their peers! This technology was not available to my son but I will never stop teaching him. Autism has been my passion since the day my son was diagnosed. I am a small non profit because I raised the funding on my own to develop the app, I have no payroll budget and my goal was to get this into the hands of as many children as possible and to do that I needed to prove it's efficacy which we have done and are continuing to do. We have the opportunity to be a game changer for these children and their families. I have an opportunity through Apple to collaborate with them in order for me to get these iPads packaged with the app already installed on them along with a ruggedized case and I will be providing training via webinars, in person and doing parent trainings in school districts all over the world. This way no child will be excluded the opportunity to be connected to the digital world and their parents won't have to worry if they do not have the means to afford this technology. I have received 2 trademarks for the software and I have just been informed that my patent was published on my learning score/data metrics that tracks the childs learning so in depth that we can look at a beautiful infographic and dive down as deep as you would like and modify where need be to enhance that particular child's learning needs. Well, that was a mouthful but it's difficult to put 25 years of living with autism into a nutshell but I have a very good reputation in Boston and beyond, national and international presenter so I could help others learn how to do what I did that we now know research supports. We are planning a launch into apple within the next week as we have been accepted into Apple iTunes already!! YAY! For parents that can afford a device great, but for those that cannot and there are plenty of families out there they will be able to use this device at school and home, regardless if they have wifi the data will still be collected on whatever tasks the child is learning, when they hit a hotspot it will refresh so we are never losing any data. I am hopeful that you may be willing to provide some funding in order for TAN to help continue to pilot this application and make it available to schools and hospitals that diagnosis and deliver services for children with autism. When we do the product launch we will be able to start to generate revenue from multiple sources, google play, apple, microsoft, amazon, etc. I am very passionate about what I do and as my mentors told me at masschallenge, "you didn't get into this because you wanted to become some big CEO of some software company, you got into it so that you could share what you have learned with other families and help children and adults with autism. This is getting way too big for me and once I start generating revenue I will be able to start to hire some staff. If you are interested in hearing more about this or want some references, the Chairman of the Board at Children's gave me the seed money to start this when I presented him with my idea and told him I was going to leave Children's because I thought I could make a bigger impact this way. I have letters of support from MIT, Children's Hospital, City Of Boston former Mayor Menino, Office of New Urban Mechanics, Boston Medical Center, The Boston Higashi School, Giant Steps School in CT, The Carlos Slim Foundation who did all that development work in kind, I was honored at Mass Advocates for Children for 20 years of volunteer service and innovative tech in special ed, I received the Margaret L Bauman, MD award for excellence in Autism in a Parent capacity, last year I received the N.E. Patriot's Charitable Foundation Myra Kraft Award for exemplifying volunteerism, I was inducted into Parkway People's Hall of Fame for Community Volunteerism and the Jason Robert's Special Needs Baseball Team for being a volunteer buddy for 20 years. I am in this and do what I do because I believe in these children and I know this app will make a difference. I would be so appreciative if you would consider donating so that we may allow all children a voice regardless of their socio economic status nor their native language. I am not some big giant autism organization with a lot of celebrity status but I have 6 kids, 4 in college, one adult with severe autism who has made tremendous strides and is still at home with me. I quit my paying job because for me it's not about the money, it's about the email or the note I receive in the mail saying that my visual support helped their 17 year old child go to the doctors or the dentist for the very first time! For me it's intrinsically rewarding. I have so much to share but I have said enough I guess. Thank you so much for your consideration on behalf of all the children that don't have a voice to thank you themselves....(YET! ;) Sincerely, Marie Duggan and remember no amount is too small to help change the life of a child! Won't you please help us help these very uniquely abled kiddos?
My name is Marie Duggan and I am the Founder of Technology For Autism Now, Inc. (TAN) I am also the parent of 6 children, my 3rd son was diagnosed with severe autism when he was 18 months old. He is 25 now. At the time there was no googling the web and the autism rates were 1 in10000 children. I was told my son was unteachable and unreachable and to institutionalize him and do myself a favor and get on with my life. He would never learn even the most mundane tasks and would never speak, be potty trained etc... I thought at that moment I was kicked in the stomach and felt myself feeling like I could not breathe. I refused to accept that. I started my non profit in 2010 and was a MassChallenge Global Finalist in 2013. I have started many successful autism initiatives, and have navigated a path for parents so that they never feel the way I did or hear those words that were said to me. Autism is now a household word. 21st century problems require 21st century solutions and with todays technology and living with severe autism 24/7, volunteering, advocating, and working at Children's Hospital Boston for many years in the Augmentative Communication Ctr/Autism Language Program I found a way to get through to my son, through trial and error I created a system that enabled him to communicate using pictures which later transferred over to an Assistive Technology Device and now with todays mobile technology we are going to be making a major difference in the lives of children with autism and their families. I have created an autism application which is based on the only scientifically evidence based method to teach children with autism (Applied Behavior Analysis) ABA, focused on these children's visual strengths, and the fact that these kids relate more to what I like to refer to as electronic screen media meaning any type of TV screen, computer, game stations, tablets, iPads, nintendo and so forth. Using this knowledge and watching my son progress over the years I finally had something that was working, I represented everything for him visually. Anyway, long story short I conducted our first pilot in Boston Public Schools and had astounding results with the children improving 72% overall. These were the children like mine, non verbal, behavioral, sensory and more in a 1 to 1 segregated classroom with no typical peers. We are planning our expanded pilot into BPS with a redeveloped app based on the feedback from the teachers in the first pilot. The app has built in data metrics that get sent to the cloud that provides a beautiful infographic of the unique cognitive processes of each individual child which can be shared via a dashboard in the cloud remotely with caregivers, parents, teachers, professionals, doctors etc so that everyone is on the same page. These data metrics are attracting attention all over the US and Internationally. I was invited to Mexico this year again after last years invitation by Carlos Slim Foundation he organized a group at Telmex and put a team together for me they took my iOS source code and translated and localized it into Spanish in addition to pulling together a team of developers to make it available on the android platform. We now have a symbol library of over 21k+ symbols in 14 languages and growing so that children can improve overall in engagement, communication, behavior, education and participation. By the time these children graduate high school they will be less costly on the school district as this application is cost effective, and takes a child through early diagnosis into adulthood. It is based on ABA, Visuals Supports, Video Modeling, Choice (by the child) Social Praise, Animation and Rewards. Can be easily customizable on the fly and is less socially stigmatizing and these kids can be cool just like their peers! This technology was not available to my son but I will never stop teaching him. Autism has been my passion since the day my son was diagnosed. I am a small non profit because I raised the funding on my own to develop the app, I have no payroll budget and my goal was to get this into the hands of as many children as possible and to do that I needed to prove it's efficacy which we have done and are continuing to do. We have the opportunity to be a game changer for these children and their families. I have an opportunity through Apple to collaborate with them in order for me to get these iPads packaged with the app already installed on them along with a ruggedized case and I will be providing training via webinars, in person and doing parent trainings in school districts all over the world. This way no child will be excluded the opportunity to be connected to the digital world and their parents won't have to worry if they do not have the means to afford this technology. I have received 2 trademarks for the software and I have just been informed that my patent was published on my learning score/data metrics that tracks the childs learning so in depth that we can look at a beautiful infographic and dive down as deep as you would like and modify where need be to enhance that particular child's learning needs. Well, that was a mouthful but it's difficult to put 25 years of living with autism into a nutshell but I have a very good reputation in Boston and beyond, national and international presenter so I could help others learn how to do what I did that we now know research supports. We are planning a launch into apple within the next week as we have been accepted into Apple iTunes already!! YAY! For parents that can afford a device great, but for those that cannot and there are plenty of families out there they will be able to use this device at school and home, regardless if they have wifi the data will still be collected on whatever tasks the child is learning, when they hit a hotspot it will refresh so we are never losing any data. I am hopeful that you may be willing to provide some funding in order for TAN to help continue to pilot this application and make it available to schools and hospitals that diagnosis and deliver services for children with autism. When we do the product launch we will be able to start to generate revenue from multiple sources, google play, apple, microsoft, amazon, etc. I am very passionate about what I do and as my mentors told me at masschallenge, "you didn't get into this because you wanted to become some big CEO of some software company, you got into it so that you could share what you have learned with other families and help children and adults with autism. This is getting way too big for me and once I start generating revenue I will be able to start to hire some staff. If you are interested in hearing more about this or want some references, the Chairman of the Board at Children's gave me the seed money to start this when I presented him with my idea and told him I was going to leave Children's because I thought I could make a bigger impact this way. I have letters of support from MIT, Children's Hospital, City Of Boston former Mayor Menino, Office of New Urban Mechanics, Boston Medical Center, The Boston Higashi School, Giant Steps School in CT, The Carlos Slim Foundation who did all that development work in kind, I was honored at Mass Advocates for Children for 20 years of volunteer service and innovative tech in special ed, I received the Margaret L Bauman, MD award for excellence in Autism in a Parent capacity, last year I received the N.E. Patriot's Charitable Foundation Myra Kraft Award for exemplifying volunteerism, I was inducted into Parkway People's Hall of Fame for Community Volunteerism and the Jason Robert's Special Needs Baseball Team for being a volunteer buddy for 20 years. I am in this and do what I do because I believe in these children and I know this app will make a difference. I would be so appreciative if you would consider donating so that we may allow all children a voice regardless of their socio economic status nor their native language. I am not some big giant autism organization with a lot of celebrity status but I have 6 kids, 4 in college, one adult with severe autism who has made tremendous strides and is still at home with me. I quit my paying job because for me it's not about the money, it's about the email or the note I receive in the mail saying that my visual support helped their 17 year old child go to the doctors or the dentist for the very first time! For me it's intrinsically rewarding. I have so much to share but I have said enough I guess. Thank you so much for your consideration on behalf of all the children that don't have a voice to thank you themselves....(YET! ;) Sincerely, Marie Duggan and remember no amount is too small to help change the life of a child! Won't you please help us help these very uniquely abled kiddos?
Organizer
Marie Duggan
Organizer
Boston, MA
Technology for Autism Now, Inc.
Registered nonprofit
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