Tech leads way for St John of God Accord disability accommodation

A new home that is giving people with an intellectual disability a new level of accommodation and support through the use of assistive technology has been opened in Brighton East, Victoria today.

The house, built by leading disability care provider St John of God Accord, features assistive technology developed by Quantify, and other partners, to give those with an intellectual disability an improved quality of life.

Yes, you read right, our collaboration with St John of God Accord has finally come to fruition!

(For the latest, check out our event wrap here).

HOME AND PROJECT DETAILS:
Quantify designed a solution based on their existing intelligent building technology to match the needs and goals of residents moving into the house.

Our devices allow carers to focus on delivering better care outcomes, and residents to live safer, more independent lives by enabling residents to trigger customised living experiences such as morning and night-time scenes, using easily understood sun and moon-symbolled buttons.

Quantify’s CEO Brett Savill said the Company’s technology will provide lighting, blind and door control, which can be adjusted via touch, app or using voice, thanks to Quantify’s integration with Amazon Alexa.

“At Quantify, we strive to enhance the lives of those in need. We have tailored our technology with the intention to provide residents with an opportunity to experience a greater quality of life,” Brett said.

“We do this by automating living experiences for common tasks, such as waking up, opening blinds or playing music, and linking these to verbal prompts and specific buttons, with simple icons, on our devices.”

Quantify’s innovative cloud-based platform will enable a future-proof living experience.

“It will allow St John of God Accord to make changes to the way devices function over time, without the need for a specialist or electrician,” Brett said.

“This means, if a resident has a change in needs, the technology can adapt to suit their requirements. For example, if a resident finds their room too bright in the morning, the good morning routine can be adjusted to dim lights by 20 percent and open blinds to 60 percent, to suit their needs.”

The five-bedroom home, built by St John of God Accord, is designed to meet the high physical support needs of residents as set by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Specialist Disability accommodation design category.

Five residents, supported by the NDIS, will move into the home in the coming weeks and will receive ongoing support from St John of God Accord carers.

“The house and technology were specifically designed to match the needs of the residents and enable them to perform daily living skills with more independence and less anxiety and give them a greater sense of their own dignity,” St John of God Accord CEO Lisa Evans said.

“It will be exciting to welcome our clients into their new home and see the difference the design and technologies within the house have on their lives over the weeks, months and years to come.”

The effectiveness of the technology and house design will be independently assessed by Deakin University to help inform future houses, with  St John of God Accord committed to investing $11.6 million in a further 10 houses for people with an intellectual disability over the coming years.

“We strongly support St John of God Accord’s plan to help those with a disability realise their goals and aspirations, using the NDIS,” Brett said.

ASX announcement to be released on this in the coming days.

A selection of photos from the home and launch are available HERE. Video is below.

Media articles:

ITWire
Disability Support Guide
Elite Agent

Take a look at the home: