CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NFlyte, an autism life skills platform and community, today launched the first daily living skills management app built for autistic adults who want to live more independently while staying connected to their families.
An estimated 5.4 million adults in the U.S. have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the number is set to explode. One in 36 children is diagnosed with autism in 2020, up from 1 in 44 children in 2018 and to 1 in 150 children in 2000, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults with autism live at home at a four times higher rate than their neurotypical peers, though the majority are motivated to move out with some level of parental support, according to the Autism Housing Network (AHN).
NFlyte is built for autistic individuals seeking a higher level of independence as they transition into adulthood and learn to navigate life with a complex neurological condition. The mobile app is designed with age-appropriate features including an easy-to-use visual schedule, grocery list, community cookbook, mood check-in, document holder, in-app messaging and trend reporting. The app works in conjunction with a web-based portal that gives parents and caregivers full visibility into the day’s progress as well as the ability to customize daily living modules and track success on a dashboard.
NFlyte founder and CEO Stacey Ledbetter is a former SaaS executive and parent to a young adult teenage daughter who has autism and an intellectual disability. While researching technologies to help her daughter learn critical daily living skills, Ledbetter found dozens of tools for the K-12 demographic but nothing for autistic adults.
“As any parent to an autistic adult knows, we’re on an enduring quest to build the critical support systems that will enable our child to live fulfilling lives. NFlyte is a central hub for autistic adults to gain basic and advanced daily living skills in a safe community, paving the way to independence,” said Stacey Ledbetter, founder and CEO of NFlyte. “For parents, NFlyte becomes a valuable and trusted resource over time as they graduate from onsite caregiving to remote care, with peace of mind knowing their child has a lifelong toolkit for their evolving independence needs.”
Autistic individuals often suffer from depression and anxiety from social isolation; after high school, 39% no longer see friends and 53% were not invited to social events, according to AHN. NFlyte also provides a social and sharing community to create better emotional health outcomes for the adult autism community. The community cookbook is populated with autism-friendly recipes and users can share their own recipes, upload photos and engage with others in the NFlyte ecosystem.
“I’ve worked with people on the autism spectrum for over 30 years, and until now there’s never been an easy solution to help the over-18 set achieve their life, health and relationship goals. NFlyte understands and fills the need for autism technology geared to adults that delivers the right level of support while still allowing individuals the freedom to learn and grow,” said Toni Boucher, autism life coach and author of Autism Translated.
In addition to helping families, NFlyte enables support providers at colleges, universities and independent living communities who teach independent living skills to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities use NFlyte’s tools to support multiple students, manage their schedules, receive real-time feedback and compare success over periods of time in one easy dashboard.
About NFlyte
NFlyte is a technology company offering the first-ever digital life skills platform and community for autistic adults to live independently. The company envisions a tech-enabled world that empowers autistic adults to live fulfilling lives while staying connected with a meaningful support network. The NFlyte solution includes an affordable and comprehensive suite of tools that support executive functioning, practical life skills and social engagement for adults with autism while providing a fully remote monitoring system for parents and caregivers. The company envisions offering unique life skills management programs for all types of intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as age-related cognitive conditions such as dementia. The NFlyte product roadmap includes advanced life skills curricula such as money management, as well as online tutorials, practical life lessons, coaching and therapy, a social online community and interconnectivity with smart home devices. Please visit www.nflyte.com
