Why picturepath exists
Picturepath founder, Richard Nurse, was inspired to start picturepath in 2017 following his son Freddies autism diagnosis.
Freddie was our inspiration to create the picturepath app, and to bring visual timelines into the 21st century.
When we received the diagnosis that our son, Freddie, is autistic, my wife and I did what many parents do when hearing this. Research.
We spent months looking at what this meant for us as a family, what support Freddie would require throughout his life and crucially, how best to communicate with him.
Freddie was completely non-verbal until the age of two and a half. A support worker suggested using PECS cards as a form of communication. They worked wonderfully and he was much more relaxed once we started using visual cues.
However these cues and timelines were made of laminated cards, either self made or bought in packs online. With this comes a series of problems: they’re not very portable, they go missing, cost money to replace, it’s difficult to create new ones and they can’t always be easily adapted given a change in plans.
Our journey to-date we’ve been able to support over 100,000 people with additional needs through our app, and we’re just getting started.
We’ve been working with various SENCO’s, parents, children, SEN experts, inclusion experts, visitor facilities and app developers to continue to improve the support it offers to its users.
Richard and Freddie interviewed on BBC Radio Cambridge
BBC Radio Cambridge host Chris Mann met with picturepath founder Richard Nurse and his son Freddie to discuss the app, the inspiration for it and how it helps Freddie to handle the matchday experience at Cambridge United.
Learn more about how picturepath can help your organisation to improve inclusivity and support visitors with additional needs