At some point, we all need help!

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In: Ability, Autism, education, Employability, Entrepeneurship, family, parents know, teachers, TV, University
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When in need of help… you seek it.

How? At this point of time, there is no limit to the various sources of support many families, educators and therapists can find – particularly if your kid/teen/adult has a diagnosis.

Yes, many of our children require various supports. Many of those supports are affordable while others are not. But also, many of them do not even exist… In my thought process, if it does not exist then it must be created. And money should not stop this from happening.

This is where TIKUN OLAM MAKERS and the WOND’RY at Vanderbilt University come in…

The Magic of TOM

This is a global movement of communities connecting makers, designers, developers and engineers with people with disabilities (aka – ‘Need-Knowers’) to develop technological solutions for everyday challenges. Designs are free and available for any user to adapt for their needs!

It is all about Human Behavior!

To meet professionals in various fields and young college students from Vanderbilt who were willing and ready to follow their peers upon the request to volunteer their time and knowledge is beyond inspiring.

The curiosity to seek solutions to challenges most of them have never faced is beyond commendable.

BTW, the request was made to give up a long weekend!!! And many of them did!!! That’s huge.

This gives me hope for the future of my daughter – there will be individuals who care about her and many like them. Realizing this as a parent eases the process and the normal thought many of us have — what will happen to my child when I’m no longer by their side.

Sounds too good to be true?

It is true… It is real… It just happened to us and 14 other families/educators/therapists with particular needs.
What we all have in common — We are seeking quality of life.

 Why is this important?

Because it is a confirmation the sky is the limit. It reaffirms my believe there will always be a solution to what may appear to be a limitation to the day to day.
What is needed? The desire and curiosity to reach out and not be afraid to seek help.

What was our final product?

We are better people.

We came out of this event empowered, marveled, thankful, excited about the future.

 

Now on to the practical final product:

Steppy – an App created by Team Thomais
So proud of everyone who contributed… ​ ​ ​ ​

This is a Content Organizer, to support low executive function skills.
Allowing the end user to include data in smaller steps so learning is not overwhelming.
*With challenging topics like math — When you have dyscalculia… A paragraph with text and some numbers does not promote learning…
Imp: The app can be used for any area of learning that requires using/learning/applying several or many steps
Most importantly, it can be personalized.
It builds independence.
It creates a sense of ownership.
Photos and links to videos can be added.