Get your hands on a free Grace App!

From the IAA Website

 Grace Picture Exchange App for iPhone is here and if you are an IAA member and O2 customer - it's free!

The new app is designed to be used in a similar way to how the existing Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is used by parents and tutors of children with autism. While the existing PECS system is very effective in the home or classroom, it is not very portable for everyday situations outside of these settings.

The main benefits of the new ‘Grace’ iPhone app are that it is simple and works in real time. It can be customised to the individual child using their picture and photo vocabulary and adding new images and sharing them with the child’s parent/carer/tutor is simple and instant.

The development of the new app has been supported by O2, which supplied iPhones for the creation and testing of the app, and which also funded the development of the final artwork used in the app.

O2’s charity of choice for the past four years has been Irish Autism Action. In addition to providing funding, O2 supports IAA through a number of ways, including employee fundraising initiatives, customer fundraising initiatives, employee volunteering and by providing business expertise and support.


The new app is now available in the official iPhone App Store. It retails at €29.99 for up to five users, to facilitate family members accessing the app.
However: As part of the launch O2 and IAA will be running a promotion for all members of IAA to avail of the app for free.

The 2 conditions of the promotion are that;

1. You must be an IAA member

2. You must be an O2 iPhone customer.

If interested, please contact IAA directly at the national office on 044 9331609

and they will post you out the free app voucher.

You can then go into your local O2 store and present the voucher along with photo ID (drivers licence or passport). The voucher can be redeemed on or before 31st May 2010.

For more information please go here to the iTunes App store, or call Lisa on 0860486249

The app will run perfectly on 2G, 3G and newer models along with the iTouch and now iPad.

Go here to the Developer Website for more information and video demonstrations.

Go here to update your IAA membership.

Emma Hade, Communications Minister Eamon Ryan, Gracie and Lisa Domican in The Group Work Room, Saplings Rathfarnham showing the Minister how it's done!

If you already have an iPhone and are thinking of upgrading, you might consider donating the older model to your local autism group or school.



Just call Lisa or email affinityautismireland@gmail.com to arrange collection.

They can restore the phone to original settings and pre-load the app so more children with autism and their families can benefit from this use of technology.

New App for iPhone to help Autistic Children - "Grace"

Grace - RTÉ News Six One from Steven Troughton-Smith on Vimeo.

Above is a link to the news piece that was filmed with Lisa Domican and her daughter Grace, whom together with a software developer Stephen Troughton-Smith, have been developing and breathing life into this application which will make a dramatic improvement in the lives of children with autism.

The following article was published by :

CIARA O'BRIEN - Irish Times Business Section, Friday December 11th

THE IPHONE is set to become a communication tool for children with autism, with the testing of a new application for the device.
The application is designed to be used in a similar way to the Picture Exchange Communication System (Pecs), which allows children to build sentences using a book of laminated pictures attached to a board by Velcro.

The application, which is being developed under the working title Grace, is the brainchild of Lisa Domican, a parent of two children with autism. She was inspired by O2’s marketing campaign for the iPhone. Before the launch of the device in 2008, the mobile operator ran advertisements on buses in Dublin. Ms Domican noticed the advertisements and realised the phone’s potential as an alternative to the Pecs books used by her 10-year-old daughter, Grace.

“You are constantly having to replace loose cards and make new ones,” said Ms Domican. “With the iPhone, the screen looks like a Pecs book. It’s ok to have a four-year-old walking around with a Pecs book; it’s not ok for a 10 or 12-year-old.
They’re very personal to the kids; it’s their voice. The [Pecs books] really stand out, whereas the iPhone is discreet and always there.”

The idea is backed by O2 Ireland, which supplied the devices for the development and testing of the application. The mobile network is already involved with Irish Autism Action and it was through this link that Ms Domican got backing from O2.

Ms Domican linked up with Steven Troughton-Smith, a software developer for the iPhone who has created a number of bestselling applications.

Mr Troughton-Smith, a student at Dublin City University, took the description of what Ms Domican wanted and turned it into a working version of Grace.
He developed the application to look exactly like a Pecs book. So instead of carrying around a Pecs book, older children can use the iPhone to choose from a range of pictures and place them on a virtual strip of Velcro.

Ms Domican’s daughter Grace has become so comfortable with the technology that she adds her own photos to the application’s library using the iPhone’s camera.

The application is undergoing trials on five devices in three schools to see if other children, parents and tutors can use it easily. Once testing has been completed, it will be submitted to the iPhone App Store.
 


It is hoped that the application will be released at the end of February and I will update the blog and keep members informed when a definite date has been decided.  Will try to arrange for Ms Domican to demonstrate the device to the parents and group at a later date.


Grace is nearly here.... watch this space!