Creator of Road Safety for Kids Products Advocates Helping Children with Autism

NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia July 2014 – As children develop and grow, their perception of the world alters and morphs. Their impression of right and wrong progresses, they develop a deeper understanding of empathy and their sense of danger and risk improves.

However children with autism present a unique set of safety concerns for parents. The National Autistic Society describes Asperger syndrome as “a form of autism… that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people.” An autistic child’s potentially unpredictable behaviour and inability to process dangers may leave them vulnerable, especially in situations that involve changing traffic conditions. 

Manager and creator of Safe-T-Hand, Jo Byron has made it her mission to combine her work around keeping children safe with helping children with autism and Asperger syndrome. Her range of road safety products teach children of all abilities healthy habits around cars and traffic, with her latest road safety for kids product geared towards children with Asperger Syndrome and Autism (ASD). www.safethand.com

“Teaching children with ASD to wait is particularly difficult as they want to be engaged constantly and they want to know exactly what’s happening next. Parents will often use cards that display images in bright colours to get them through the day. For example, when they first wake up, they will view cards with an image of someone eating breakfast and another card of someone brushing their teeth to explains clearly what to do next and create a routine.” www.safethand.com

Jo and her research team at Safe-T-Hand have spent 18 months exploring and creating designs specific to children with ASD based on images the children already use and are accustomed to. They have been designed with familiar pictures – including dogs, cats, rainbows, fish and clock faces – to capture a child’s attention so they stay next to the car. This product is the first and only road safety awareness tool available to parents who have children with ASD. www.safethand.com

“At trade events and markets, I’m often bombarded with requests for Safe-T-Hands specifically for helping children with autism, as the parents believe their kids would benefit magnificently from a design to help with routine, smooth transitions between activities and a promotion of independence and ‘waiting skills’,” says Jo.

The research team at Safe-T-Hand worked closely with two Australian mums, each with children under seven years diagnosed with ASD, and a local spectrum school to create the new designs specifically for helping children with autism and Asperger syndrome with road safety. As part of Jo’s commitment, she is also donating about 10% of her ASD Safe-T-Hand sales to Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) – Australia’s leading service provider for autism and other disabilities.

Discover how Safe-T-Hand’s new product is helping with road safety for kids in children with autism or Asperger syndrome at www.safethand.com.
 
Source:
http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-asperger-syndrome.aspx

Contact Information

Jo Byron

Manager

Safe-T-Hand

(61) 0400 595 206

jo@safethand.com.au