Promising future for autism inspired communication device
A DECADE of caring for his profoundly autistic son has inspired a Barnsley father to launch a new business.
Stephen Lodge, whose son Callum was diagnosed with autism in 2003, has launched Speaks4me – a device that helps people who suffer from a partial or total lack of verbal communication skills.
The portable device uses a combination of picture exchange through dragging and dropping on-screen images, photos and symbols with a speech engine to help people communicate their needs and feelings.
Speaks4me has additional healthcare applications to help people with other conditions that impair communication such as stroke victims.
The device can also be used with non-healthcare related applications for educational purposes.
The technology is capable of verbal communication in more than 20 languages and therefore can help to educate users whose primary language is not English.
The device has already attracted significant interest from the market with completed sales to special needs schools and UK charities.
Mr Lodge, who had a 20-year career as a senior project manager with a number of global blue chip companies. said he had self-funded the device’s development and launch but was now looking for investors to help finance the business’s next phase.
To help him prepare his company for investment Mr Lodge is taking part in Investing Health – an Understanding Finance for Business programme.
He said that he was confident for the future.
“Speaks4me has been a number of years in the making and we’re now ready to fully launch to market.
“There has already been significant interest in the device from a number of different companies and individuals and I’m hoping that the versatility of the technology and the wide range of applications available will make it an attractive proposition for investors.”
The Investing in Health programme is managed by Grant Thornton with support from BITECIC and Quotec.
The programme forms part of Yorkshire Forward’s ongoing strategy to support the development of the healthcare technologies industry in Yorkshire and Humber.
