Ms Lisa Marie Clinton:

I thank the committee for the invitation. I am delighted to collaborate and look forward to the discussion. Based on the goals of this committee, l propose to share an example of technology used in the autism and wider disability space, international frameworks and an employment programme which has been scaled across America and beyond. I am the strategy and business development director of adult transition and employment for CentralReach, which is the leading American company that offers a range of autism and intellectual disability care software and services. It serves over 130,000 professionals at home, in the community, at school and in work, across 2,800 customers.

As to my own background, I commenced my career as an educator in a school for children with autism. In addition, I have worked across other domains, including with families, in employment settings and in day services and residential care. It was through my experience, combined with my masters degree, that I questioned how we could do more to best serve individuals who require additional prompting or a significant level of 1:1 support. I asked myself if I could digitalise my teaching to be available 24-7. As a digital educator, job coach, therapist, support staff, I could then leverage everyday technology to augment service delivery to remove challenges individuals may face to help them to reach their full potential and enable service providers to extend services.

I became a social entrepreneur and developed avail, which is a patented solution to digitally support individuals through a personal centred approach used by schools, support employment agencies, employers and state bodies. These disability organisations are achieving outcomes including a 76% increase in the acquisition of life skills; savings of $240 per individual; and a 70% reduction in staff time spent, by utilising our system-analysed data, assessments and reports over traditional methods. One young learner, experiencing ownership of learning, referenced her newfound independence by saying “she doesn't have to listen to her Mam any more” to complete daily life skills. We continue to explore and research these outcomes to extend studies completed by the University of Galway, Michigan State University and Penn State University.

We see the life-changing impact technology and assisted technologies, AT, have for those with physical disabilities. Surely we should take a similar approach for those with developmental or hidden disabilities, and autism, where we can seek solutions to overcome difficulties. For an individual who is non-verbal, we have an alternative augmentative communication software. What about something similar to assist with executive functioning? Moving onto transition services, as referenced by Ms Tonge, we know this has been a topic of conversation in the committee over the past six months. There have been great examples from Trinity College Dublin and as shown here, from University College Dublin as well. I wish to draw on examples from my work in America from forming partnerships with disability groups and funders. One key distinction in their policy is a transition framework. The need for this framework has been highlighted here in Ireland. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, is a federal special education law that mandates workforce preparation for students with disability. Beginning at age 16, or sometimes even 14, and all the way up to 21, an annual individual education plan, IEP, must have appropriate measurable post-secondary goals, including transition services. These goals relate to training, education, employment placement and, where appropriate, independent living skills in schools. During this time, the school forges relationships with vocational rehabilitation offices - similar to social protection in Ireland - and employment agencies. Research shows that students with disability are more likely to achieve successful post-school outcomes in employment and post-secondary education when they are exposed to paid work experiences before completion of school.

There are a number of transition programmes. I have personally witnessed one, namely, Project Search, an international model with over 700 sites throughout America and abroad. We work with a number of sites across states to extend coaching and accelerate teaching. This unique, business-led school-to-work programme immerses young adults by combining classroom instruction, career exploration and hands-on training through work-site rotations within an employment setting. With a 70% success rate into employment and a proven track record, l believe this model should be replicated in Ireland. We currently have one site - Naas Hospital, which was set up in 2013 - whereas in the UK there are over 100 sites with an aim to get 10,000 young people into employment by 2030.

As I reflect on the landscape and policy in Ireland, reinforced by feedback I have received, I believe there are a lot of learnings from other countries in addition to replicating proven existing models. Both entities like the HSE and schools are struggling to fund products offered outside Ireland, relying on self-funding options. I have connected with many supported employment agencies that would like to utilise the workplace equipment adaptation grant, although they have experienced difficulties. From 2015-19 the successful applications actually decreased year on year. I welcome further discussion to expand on these items.

As a final thought, we know technology is a way of life. Some 86% of the world’s population owns a smartphone. I am sure many people in this room, if not everyone, use technology to assist throughout their day. Is this a form of assistive technology? I believe everyone should have the same opportunities to gain from technology, especially as it dramatically increases quality of life. I thank the committee for the opportunity and for its commitment in addressing the needs and collaborating to provide better outcomes for individuals with autism and their families.