Autism Software Helps Schools Address Growing Needs

Columbia, SC -- As Autism Awareness Month comes to an end, the challenges for parents and educators will remain all year round, with many struggling to implement appropriate Individual Education Programs (IEPs) for children with autism and other special needs. As a result, a South Carolina-based software developer is encouraging all school districts across the country to consider computer-based tools to address the educational needs of children with autism and other learning challenges.

“Many schools are not prepared to handle the large number of children with autism that are currently in the school systems,” said Susan DuRant, director of education for Accelerations Educational Software (AES) and mother of a 36-year-old daughter with autism.

DuRant recently joined AES to continue making a difference for special needs students after retiring from her public education career in positions as director of special education at district and state levels.

“AES’s products are cost-effective solutions that immediately address the needs of many students, regardless of age, disability or level of performance,” she added.

Autism now affects 1 out of every 150 children and most school districts are struggling with how to cope with the increased enrollment of special needs students in their schools.

With over 900 districts currently implementing its programs and with federal stimulus funding being made available to schools for assistive technology, Accelerations Educational Software is preparing for more districts to take advantage of its software that offers solutions to teachers and educators.

In addition to DuRant, AES has recently hired three additional special education teachers and autism specialists to support continued product development and help teachers integrate the programs into classrooms.

The DT Trainer and Activity Trainer programs provide cost-effective, data-driven technology that engages students using minimal adult support, as recommended by the US Department of Education.

“Our goal is to make this software available to as many students as possible, which is why our products are priced one-tenth the cost of typical special needs software of similar robustness" said Karl Smith, founder of AES and the father of a child with autism.

“I started on this mission to create effective and affordable educational software, especially for students with autism because there were not effective tools for the more moderately to severely impaired and the research on effective methods was not making it to practice,” he added.

For more information, including a free 30-day trial on both programs, visit http://www.dttrainer.com or call 803-233-0541.

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Contact Information

Karl Smith

Founder

Accelerations Educational Software

Contact via E-mail