Our Commitment to Empowering Families

My name is Shane, and my daughter Heath is profoundly autistic. Heath’s biggest challenges come from her communication limitations. She struggles to understand messages from her own body – the pains of hunger, the fog of fatigue, the pang of envy – and she struggles to form the words to talk about these feelings with her family and friends.

In the absence of her voice, adults in her community diagnose her needs without permission. They say, “she was tired today,” when she is bored. They say, “she got angry today without reason,” when someone was laughing at her or her friends. People gaslight our autistic children and then ask why they are melting down in frustration, rage, and sadness.

As parents and caregivers, we can do better, and in doing better, we can give our children the tools to achieve their best selves. We can make our children’s lives more joyful, give them a stronger voice, and protect them from predators who will take advantage of their vulnerability.

How?

Last year, one of Heath’s therapists changed her routine. He began starting each session with her favorite swing, because he noticed she could tolerate more stress afterward. Excited by that insight, I started experimenting with tools to measure the change Heath’s therapist was observing.

Now, as an old technologist, I know that if I can measure the impact of Heath’s swing, I can innovate on her experience. I can monitor her stress, identify the best coping mechanisms, and create automated messages that tell Heath what’s happening to her body in language she understands. I can teach Heath how to hear the signals of her body, and I can empower her to control her feelings independently. 

Does it really work?

Absolutely! The swing dropped Heath’s heart rate by 30 bpm in just a few minutes. When we were able to measure Heath’s stress, we could give her words to describe it and coping skills to manage it. Heath became stronger and more confident in just a few weeks. 

And we didn’t stop at stress. We also used technology to examine the noises Heath was making throughout the day, and we were able to identify much stronger language skills than any of her therapists were hearing. Heath was talking all day long, but her team wasn’t listening. We started encouraging Heath to use volume and replaced some staff members.

Those improvements are just the beginning of a long journey. Technology has opened so many doors for Heath. Instead of passing the hours with kinetic sand and slime, Heath is learning to read and ride a bike. She is excited, nervous, and growing. 

Sensory Bionics is building products to give every autistic child and their parents this advantage. We partner with parents to make the world safe for all children.