Aware of the possibilities mobile technology can play in personalised autism care, Wirral Autistic Society tested a new cloud-based solution from Brain in Hand, discovering improvements in 100% of the selected participants.

Brain in Hand is a cloud-based solution that enables individuals to access a rich set of personalised pre-planned coping strategies from their phone, set out their day so that they don’t forget or miss activities, monitor their anxiety levels and request urgent help when needed.

All clients experienced a reduction in anxiety and everyone was able to give examples of how they had been able to achieve more independently and be less reliant on care providers.

The charity reported a reduction in staff time needed to support users as less time was required by staff to manage difficult behaviour, or the fall-out from problems and fewer users needed help planning their day.

Jane Carolan, director of client services, Wirral Autistic Society, said: “Brain in Hand has dramatically helped participants of our Step into Work programme to prepare for potential workplace anxieties and the reassurance of ‘pressing red’ to contact help if needed. It provides a feeling of safety that really boosts confidence”.

David Fry, CEO, Brain in Hand said: “We are delighted that not only are service users making huge leaps forward in achieving their goals, but these leading organisations are also seeing operational and cost improvements. This is consistent with what other social care services have reported. For example organisations report increased confidence as they transition users from residential to independent living. They have also reported savings of up to £41,000 per annum for complex and intensive user of health and social care”.

This article was first published in Charity Digital News – 9/4/2015