Lisa Domican
Lisa Domican, co-creator of Grace App and mother of two autistic teenagers; 19 year old Grace who inspired the Grace App and Liam, who is now 20. As a parent of two young adults with Autism and a severe speech disability,
Lisa is a staunch advocate. She saw the importance of giving the power of communication to her own daughter and others who needed it. Having set up and implemented a picture exchange communication system for Liam and then Grace in 2003; Lisa went on to digitise this simple system creating the Grace App for Communication which has had 30,000 downloads from iTunes since launching in 2010. This simple App empowers the user to communicate their needs independently and supports the inclusion of people with autism in the mainstream on their own terms. According to Lisa ‘My goal is to engage and inform as many educators, therapists, parents, carers and service providers about the importance of independent expression”
Why I 
Tech
“
I love technology as a tool, a tool that supports people to be included in our world. Too many people with disabilities can end up on the margins of society. They have less money, less access to interesting work and leisure opportunities, poor living conditions, access to medical care, and in the case of people with autism, they may have 30 % lower life expectancy as a result. Technology can help even the playing field for people with a disability. Simple devices and software can make up for perceived deficits allowing the person to be included on their own terms. Increased access to things most of us take for granted as part of our daily lives, such as work, transport, retail, leisure and health improves the quality of life for people with disabilities, and their families.
#ada18’s motto is ideas to change the world – my tech idea is
“
Everyone should be able to ask for what they want, Grace App allows them to do this.