It was a classic “eureka” moment for Cynthia Howroyd, a New
Brunswick speech language pathologist who was working with
autistic children. When an auto accident prevented her from
visiting her clients, Howroyd realized just how diffi cult it was to
ensure consistent support for families requiring professional
services like hers. Immediately, she knew that Internet-based
technology was an ideal solution for providing reliable therapeutic collaboration from any location.
To make it happen, Howroyd founded Virtual Expert Clinics and engaged both clinicians and programmers, who traditionally worked in different worlds, to create flexible software for unpredictable, nonlinear therapy. The result is the revolutionary online program called AutismPro™ that involves parents, teachers and therapists in different locations on an ongoing basis, and enables shared insight and collaboration to help advance patient progress.
Firmly believing this is only the beginning for Internet-based programming, Howroyd encourages innovators to take their big
ideas forward. “Don’t waste time in your basement perfecting a prototype,” she advises. “Develop a proper business plan and
find the venture capitalist who can turn your vision into reality.” Coming from a successful entrepreneur, these are truly inspiring words.
If you would like to enter the 2nd Annual Rogers Innovations@Work Awards, we'd like to hear from you. Please click here to send us an email, and we'll get in touch with you when the 2008 contest is launched in September.