What Control4 Home Automation Can Do For Children With Autism

http://www.control4.com/ - Meet 3 year old Brody Buzzard and see how Control4 home automation is helping his family overcome a few challenges at home.

Brody loves to do puzzles. He likes sand because he's very sensory oriented. He loves boats because you get to go into the water and go up and down. Brody is also autistic which adds extra complexity to the Buzzard family life.

"Kids with autism don't see the world as relationships or emotions or responding to instructions. They see the world in pictures." - Mark

Once he started pre-school, Brody's mom Robin had to wake him up real early and he would throw tantrums. Brody's dad Mark installed a Control4 home automation system in their home and soon realized what the system could do for Brody.

He programmed a wake up timer so that everyday, Brody's TV turns on at 8:30am to his favorite TV show. Robin enters Brody's bedroom to get him dressed once she sees he's up and happy via a camera. Robin can also use a touch screen while she's getting ready to check-in on Brody and his therapist so she doesn't have to interrupt his routine.

Mark can't sit down with Brody and ask him if he wants to watch a particular program. It doesn't work that way, so Mark instead shows him an image on the TV screen, points at it and then Brody can say "yeah". "The visuals really, really help because he can't communicate any other way." - Mark

The iPad absolutely changed everything because Brody knows intuitively what to do when he's got one in his hands. The pictures and ease of use of an iPad makes it easy for Brody to show his parents what he wants.

Recently, Brody began sneaking out at night so Mark made it so that the master bedroom lights turn on and a vocal notification is announced over the loud speakers when Brody opens his door.

A smart home can not only make your life better, it can make it easier so you can focus on the stuff that really matters.

"I absolutely love it, I don't know what I would do without Control4 home automation. It just makes me so happy." - Robin

"Before we had home automation there were a lot of things that we couldn't necessarily handle on our own... it's amazing, the technology and automation has made a huge difference in our home." - Mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn1csdWhUjg

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• autism
• toddlers
• family
• control4
• home automation

[1970novasupersport]

If you have an autistic person in your life you need to watch this amazing story. It will give you hope and happiness . This is a story written by Barb Rentenbach who was discovered to have autism at the age of 2. In her words she said that those around her looked at her as retarded and she even believed it until many years later she was given a keyboard . She is now 36 and has 2 books in publication . She has touched my life and I hope she touches yours . look for Barb Rentenbach on youtube.

[libertybellalarm]

Love it!!