b'Take a bus? On his own?As a young man in Dublin with an intellectual disability, the idea thatEdward would be able to travel independently from home acrosstown seemed implausible. Up until recently, it was taken for grantedEdwards familythat Edwards life would always consist of a series of car rides, drop-offs or accompanied bus trips. His literacy and writing skills werewas nervous.limited. He didnt know how to use a phone or an iPad.But today,thanks to a new travel training program that uses a new travel appcalled Way Buddy, what once seemed impossible is a realityand Edward and others with intellectual disabilities are trav-eling independently from home with confidence and safety. WithsupportfromTheIrelandFunds,theappwas developed by Sarah Gavra Boland whose idea was first recognized at The Ireland Funds Business Plan Competi-tion in 2013. Tested and further developed with serviceusers at St. John of God Menni Services, the app uses mobile devices to offer step-by-step travel instructionsand the ability to contact family or friends for help. Eachindividualcancustomizetheirownrouteswith landmark photos that they take to support them totravel the route. Sarah found that while developing theapp, the desire for independence among service-users was unanimous. When we started sitting downwith the service users and introducing the wholeconcept, to the Smartphones, the touch screens, andthe iPad, we found the ability to touch and swipe wasjust intuitive, says Sarah. They also wanted to be able to have thesamedevicesaseverybodyelse.Notanassistivetechnology device but the same devices that their brothers and sisters, theirfriends and their parents, were using. So it was very important thatwe make it work on the iPad. The introduction of the smartphoneswas very quickly followed by iPads and exploring all the other appsavailable that could support independent living. Phil Seville, aninstructor at St. John of God Menni Services explains, With the WayBuddy app, the user can exercise their choices. Yet if they need assistance they can press an icon on-screen and we can see exactlywhere they are using the GPS and assist them by phone.And so now thanks to the Way Buddy app, men and womenfrom the St. John of God Menni services are walking to the market,taking the bus, crossing busy streets, and managing their ownschedules in a manner previously thought impossible for them todo outside of a group setting or without family supervision. Thenewly-found independence and confidence is remarkable.Edwardsfamilyisnolonger The introduction of the Way Buddy app, has opened the doorfor other technology to be used within the service. For users likenervous. In fact, theyre just blownSean, they have started to use other apps like ChoiceWorks app toawaybythis,reportsPhil. record and journal the activities of their day which improves theirliteracy and social skills. Sean shows off his iPad and and proudlyTheyre saying to me, Edward is explains the tasks he has completed for that day: traveling to hisclasses, attending yoga, and helping his sister with a project. Allcoming home and his confidence isdone, says Sean with an enormous smile. Its just excellent.sky high. He refuses lifts into work The Ireland Funds were the first organization to put and now proudly says, No thanks, financial support behind the Way Buddy app. And fortoday Im traveling on my own. users and their families it has made all the difference. connect2014 | 43'