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Birdhouse from page 29

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attention when a blogger at Parents.com
featured it as a must-have tool in the arse-
nal for autism parents.
While there are other mobile apps on
the market that are designed with autistic
children in mind, they are intended for the
children with special needs. Some of these
apps help autistic children read at higher
levels, learn to focus better or enunciate
words. Birdhouse for Autism is a tool for
parents.
"We believe that using Birdhouse —
either the website or the mobile app — is
like putting on your own oxygen mask
before helping your child:' Ben explained.
"We are helping make managed care easier
and more effective for every caregiver of an
autistic kid. When the parent is well sup-
ported, everyone wins:'

Caregiving's A Team Effort
Birdhouse for Autism is not intended to be
used solely by the parents. There are other
essential caregivers on the team working to
manage the life of a child with autism, and
it is essential that they have the pertinent
data to make informed decisions when alter-
ing the child's regimen. That was a priority
for Darn and Ben in creating the Birdhouse
platform.
"Birdhouse is a place where all members

of the care team — parent, therapist, care-
giver, grandparent or teacher — can go to
in order to manage the child's care together:'
Dani explains. "The app and website work
hand-in-hand to see what's working for your
child and what might need to be altered. It
gives you a better idea of why your child is
behaving the way he's behaving7
The couple had help building the website
and app, but ultimately the entire project
has been their own labor of love. "I've always
been interested in technology — I have
started other companies, but this is my first
technology initiative said Ben, who ran the
Detroit Community's Birthright Israel pro-
gram for a year before starting Birdhouse for
Autism with his partner Dani.
The mobile app has recently come out
of its beta version and the couple is busy at
work designing a new and better way for
caregivers to use Birdhouse. The next version
will have more graphs and charts to help
parents and doctors measure the data as well
as more comprehensive food tracking and
customizability (for instance, seizures will be
able to be tracked).
In addition to being one of three compa-
nies this year to be part of the Bizdom accel-
erator, Birdhouse for Autism raised $250,000
in a venture round in April 2014 with angel
funding from StartGarden of Grand Rapids

and private investors. Birdhouse was also
one of only 10 companies chosen to pitch
Steve Case, the well-known founder of AOL.
While not chosen for funding, Ben and
Dani were honored to have the opportunity
to pitch Case and learned a lot in the plan-
ning stage. Ben said Birdhouse will generate
revenue by charging a subscription fee of
$10 per month; however, it will not sell ads
on the website or mobile app.
Dani and Ben have heard from families
across the country that have used Birdhouse
to identify what is causing their child's
meltdowns, receive a better referral to a neu-
rologist from their pediatrician, get a better
handle on potty training and make more
educated decisions about their child's diet.
Due to the mobile app, one mother in
Bloomfield Hills with a 6-year-old child
with autism was able to get her son out of a
special education placement that wasn't suit-
ing him and into a better fit. As more people
hear about Birdhouse for Autism, more
non-parent caregivers are registering as well.
As time goes on, Dani predicts that parents
will come to expect their child's teacher and
therapist to be regular users of the Birdhouse
platform.
Dani and Ben are like other families
with an autistic child. They keep trying
different things until they find something

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that helps their daughter feel more com-
fortable. What they think they might have
stumbled upon with Birdhouse for Autism
is the tipping point of caregiving manage-
ment for these families.
In the future when parents learn they
have a child with autism, no longer will
the advice from other parents with autistic
children be "Get a notebook and a pencil:'
Rather, they will be advised to go register
on the Birdhouse for Autism website and
download the app. ❑

Rabbi Jason Miller is an educator,
entrepreneur, technologist and blogger. He
is president of Access Computer Technology
in West Bloomfield and blogs at http://blog.
rabbijason.com . Follow him on Twitter at @
RabbiJason.

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September 18 • 2014

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ST. 1996

