Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The pursuit of appiness
Mum gives autistic kids helping hand
A MUM whose son has autism has developed an app to help children with special educational needs.
Debbie Craig has won a £50,000 grant to bring BOOP to the market.
The aim of the software is to close the gap between mainstream learning and additional needs by bringing together key people involved in a child’s care and development so they can work together to ensure they reach their full potential.
Belfast woman Debbie said: “As a result of the pandemic, SEN children and their families have experienced unprecedented challenges. Autistic children especially struggle to cope with changes to their routine and this has led to increased levels of anxiety during lockdown.
“Families have been left in limbo. Teachers require better resources to support their students remotely – ones that are better suited to the specific needs of these individuals.”
Debbie’s innovative software education platform secured a slice of £20million Government funding to support communities through the Covid-19 pandemic, beating 8,600 entrants to secure the maximum grant available.
She hopes to bring her product to the market as soon as possible through her company Limejar.
Debbie said: “I’m using my skills as software developer to create a solution that will enable SEN children to continue to learn during this pandemic and to close the learning gap between mainstream learning and additional needs.
“BOOP brings together the key people involved in a child’s care and development, so their parents, teachers and therapists can work together as a team and enable that child to reach their full potential.
She describes BOOP as an easy to use platform with everything in one place, which provides consistency while keeping track of development.
The software she developed has also been shortlisted for an INVENT 2020 award.
Debbie’s is one of only two companies shortlisted out of 100 in the Creative Media and Consumer Internet category.
She will find out if she wins that award on October 8.