Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital To Utilize Specialized Software for Treatment of Autism

Becomes First Healthcare Facility in Mass. to Use "TLC" as Therapeutic Option

BRAINTREE, MA, January 28, 2010 - Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital (BRH), in conjunction with the Center for Communication Enhancement at Children's Hospital Boston, has introduced a new augmentative communication software application, called "Teaching Language Concepts" (TLC).

TLC, which will be offered at BRH's Pediatric Clinics in Braintree, Lynnfield and Plymouth, is intended for children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The software is designed for the verbal or the non-verbal child generally older than three years with communication difficulties. Many of these children do not process auditory input correctly; speech can be heard, but there is a problem processing or understanding what is being said.

The program was originally developed by Children's Hospital for its own internal use. BRH recently became the first healthcare organization to offer it since Children's Hospital made it commercially available.

TLC helps children express and understand nouns as well as the more difficult notion of "action" verbs, prepositions, descriptors and spatial concepts. The software allows speech and language pathologists to interact with the child in a visual format that is very meaningful to them.

An important option of TLC is a personalization feature whereby video clips and still images of the child, their family, other familiar surroundings and activities can be used to enhance the learning process and feedback. This personalized content can be easily uploaded into the program's image warehouse. Parents may also purchase the TLC software for use on their home computer. BRH therapists can then establish a home TLC program to augment the sessions at the outpatient clinics.

Jessica Bates, lead clinician with the BRH Outpatient Clinic Network, says that the software has already produced some dramatic results.

"Currently, there's nothing else on the market like this," said Bates. "We have kids who were already showing improvement in their comprehension after just two sessions."

For more information about TLC, call (781) 380-4360 or visit our Pediatric Autism program page.