We Are Thankful — A Guest Post from the Blackburn Family

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At HandHold Adaptive, we are thankful for many things and one of those is being able to work with so many individuals who either have special needs, work with those with special needs, or are parents of special needs children. It is great to be able to see how are products are able to help so many! We are grateful for the support and give thanks during this holiday season.

To highlight a family that we are thankful for, Lani Blackburn shares her story of how iPrompts has helped her son and her family. Thank you Lani for sharing your inspiring words! Here is her story:

My name is Lani and my husband and I have a son with Autism. He was diagnosed at the age of 7. We have taken him to the doctors since he was 2 trying to figure out why he still was not saying many words. But they would just say that he was developmentally delayed. When he first was diagnosed with Autism – there were many feelings of frustration and disbelief. It took a bit to calm down and see why the doctor diagnosed Autism. He is now 12 years old and every day is a new day where we all learn and grow.

When our son first started ABA Therapy we learned about Visual Schedules. These are the ones on paper that tell the child what to do with the help of pictures. They worked for a bit and then it was always a battle. So we got rid of them and went back to just making sure that he was doing the daily routines that he needed to do. Trying to remind him that if he did them in order it would be easier to remember what he needed to do. All we got was lots of frustration on both sides. And this frustration wasn’t what we wanted.

I started to do research on Visual Schedules and found that there were apps that you could put on a device that did much more than a paper visual scheduler. I have been very impressed with iPrompts PRO. And it makes it even better when our son LOVES it too. No more frustration. He is now able to go through his schedule on his own with a device that helps to steer him in doing his routine in order.

With this app I can create schedules. I have three children. If I choose I can create a folder for each child with multiple schedules for those children. Each schedule can have a picture. I have used some pictures from the library on iPrompts PRO and others I have had to create using the camera on device. Some actions in a schedule need a timer. There is a countdown tab and we use that a lot. Our son is able to click on the countdown tab and use one of the timers I have created for him. For example he has a reading timer, a shower timer and a brush teeth timer. That way he doesn’t get frustrated trying to figure out how many minutes he has to set the timer for.

I am still in the process of learning more about this app each day. I haven’t even looked at the choices tab. Also, our son found the VideoPrompts – all on his own. He loves watching these videos. And he learns a lot on how he should handle a situation. I can’t think of better videos for him to watch.

We as a family love this app. There is less yelling and more peace at home. Our son gets to be more responsible and self-reliant all on his own. Thank you so much HandHold Adaptive. We needed you and you were there for us. Thank you for all you have done for our family.

–Lani

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ASHA, the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, hosts a national convention every year for Speech-Language Pathologists and others who work with individuals with speech and hearing difficulties. Each year, companies who produce products for this group also get the chance to attend. HandHold Adaptive was very excited to go to ASHA this year, which was hosted in Chicago. We were able to meet many people who work with individuals who have Autism and provide them with information on iPrompts, StoryMaker, and SpeechPrompts. It was a great show!

http://www.asha.org/

Rob greets ladies at the iPrompts booth to show them our apps on iPads and get to know how we can help them with their app needs.

During ASHA, we gave away three copies of our iPrompts Pro software along with an IPad cover. Here one of our winners, Julie Finkel, comes to claim her prize! Thanks to everyone who registered and and congrats to our winners!

Even though we worked hard during the convention, we also loved getting to explore Chicago after hours. Chicago is a great place and ASHA was a huge success! We appreciate everyone who came by the booth and here’s to next year in Orlando!

Get To Know Us!

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We have many talented people on the team at HandHold Adaptive and thought what better way to get acquainted then to tell you a little more about the people at our company. We all have unique roles that help to keep the company operating.

Dan Tedesco, is the founder and former CEO of HandHold Adaptive. He now serves as the company’s strategic adviser and product inventor. Dan’s biggest inspiration comes from his dear son, Evan, who is challenged with Autism. Dan believes that through mobile technology a gap can be bridged between those with developmental challenges and those without. His dedication and hard work to create an app to help these individuals is a true testament to his belief in helping those with special needs.

Rob Tedesco, the CEO and Co-Founder, has led HandHold’s Research and Development since the beginning of the company in 1998, and took over as CEO in 2012. Rob serves as the Principal Investigator of several SBIR awards from the U.S. Department of Education. He also manages customer service, business development, and many other activities of day to day operations!

Carey Tedesco is the Co-Founder and Creative Director at HandHold Adaptive. She has worked as a graphic designer for more than thirteen years. She manages HandHold Adaptive’s design projects, including software graphics, the website, and marketing materials. Carey, who is Evan’s mother, is driven by the idea of creating visual supports and other assistive technologies that are bright, warm, and fun, so that uses don’t feel stigmatized. She works very hard to keep HandHold’s creative side ticking!

Mike Tedesco serves as the Chief Technologist of HandHold Adaptive. He works with Venturesoft, LLC to develop HandHold Adaptive’s suite of apps for IOS and Android, including iPrompts, SpeechPrompts, AutismTrack, and SpeechPrompts. He also runs the backend servers that power the databases for all of these products.

Courtney Moss, Marketing Manager and Sales Consultant, is a Speech and Language Pathologist by trade with a Marketing degree. She is in charge of marketing through social media outlets, reaching out to individuals who work with children who have Autism, and developing this blog! Her background includes utilizing assistive technology to better help those with special needs function in their environment.

So now that you know us a little better, feel free to share a little more about yourself in the comments section and let us know how you heard about HandHold Adaptive. If you have other questions or comments concerning our software, please contact us!