Autistic Society highlights Exeter's 'Brain in Hand'
An Exeter-based company has been shortlisted in a national awards ceremony in recognition of the difference their pioneering assistive smartphone technology is making to the lives of people with autism across the UK.
Brain in Hand, at the University of Exeter Innovation Centre, has been nominated in the Best New Technological Innovation sponsored category in The National Autistic Society's (NAS) Autism Professionals Awards 2014. The annual ceremony, which first took place in 2013, recognises and rewards services and professionals that lead the way in innovative autism practice and make a real difference to the lives of people with the condition in the UK.
Autism affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, which can make it incredibly to make sense of the world. The 12 person team behind Brain in Hand developed the mobile cloud-based system, encompassing daily schedules, alerts and mentoring support, to help people with the condition to manage their lives and lower their anxiety levels.
Andrew Stamp, CEO of Brain in Hand, said: “We now have the technology to help large numbers of people with autism and other conditions to lead more independent lives. Brain in Hand works with established clinical approaches using the smartest technology, tailored to be highly effective and easy to use in the real world.
“You create plans for different aspects of your life, adding solutions to activities, tasks and potential problems. When there is a problem, you simply use your smartphone to pick the solution that works for you, reducing your anxiety level before it escalates. For people with high functioning austim and impaired executive function of the brain the results have proved to really encouraging. Many users have newfound confidence, putting them in control of their own support, providing reassurance, reducing anxiety and helping people lead more independent lives."
David Pool, Development Director at Brain in Hand, said: “We’re immensely proud to be shortlisted for the awards. We are an ambitious company determined to make a difference. We’ve got a fantastic team at Brain in Hand helping to change people’s lives for the better through what is a proven system, connected to great mentoring support. It’s really starting to generate interest across health, social care and education sectors and in business, with companies keen to support their diverse workforce.”
Carol Povey, Director of the Centre for Autism at the NAS said: "These awards recognise individuals and organisations, like Brain in Hand, who go the extra mile to improve the lives of people affected by autism across the UK.
“The calibre of this year's entries has been outstanding and the team has done remarkably well to be shortlisted. We hope their example will inspire other professionals and organisations to redouble their efforts to ensure people affected by autism can reach their full potential.
"Autism can have a profound and sometimes devastating effect on individuals and families but the right support can make a huge difference."
Brain in Hand is joined by two other nominees in the Best New Technological Innovation category, sponsored by Network Autism: DART, a research group at University of Edinburgh, and a collaborative project from the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at The Royal College of Art and The Kingwood Trust.
The winner will be revealed at an awards dinner held on the first night of the NAS’ Professional Conference on 4 March 2014 at The Royal Hall, Harrogate. The awards will be judged by a panel of 12 leading experts in the field of autism from a variety of professional backgrounds across the UK.
There are nine awards in total, including two celebrating individual professional achievement and seven recognising good practice by teams or organisations.
The categories are:
• Achievement by an Individual Education Professional sponsored by Axcis
• Lifetime Achievement
• Inspirational Education Provision
• Outstanding Adult Services
• Clinical Excellence sponsored by Nua Healthcare
• Innovative Family Support
• Best New Technological Innovation sponsored by Network Autism
• Most Creative Community Project
• Autism Accreditation Excellence sponsored by Autism Accreditation
To find out more information about the Awards please visit www.autismprofessionalsawards.org.uk.
