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Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism & Social Learning Startup Donate to Schools with Autism Classes

The Doug Flutie Jr Foundation for Autism Partners with The Social ExpressSan Diego, CA and Framingham, MA—(PRWeb) October 23, 2012—The Social Express™, creators of new interactive social skills programs for special needs children, has partnered with The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism and donated copies of its program to schools who teach children with autism.

“We’re very proud to donate The Social Express learning program to The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism,” said Marc Zimmerman, CEO and Founder of Brighten Learning. “After using our program, teachers tell us that students are extremely receptive to its social skills lessons like ‘talking about what others like to talk about’ and ‘being part of the group’.  Many ask to use the program everyday.“

Zimmerman added, “Educator feedback also tells us that The Social Express characters engage students so well, they’re able to begin learning tough social concepts. We’re excited to share the program with more schools!”

The importance of technology to enhance children’s learning in the classroom is widely accepted. For children with autism, laptop computers are especially helpful but are out of reach for many schools with autism specific classrooms.

The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism has long recognized this fact. In 2000 the Laurie Flutie Computer Initiative was created for the purpose of donating computers to underprivileged families of individuals living with autism as well as to schools with autism-specific classrooms.

Chris Chirco, Program Director at the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, stated that, “The Flutie Foundation is excited to partner with The Social Express.  Computer technology has become a key component in the education of many individuals with autism spectrum disorders and The Social Express offers a very visually stimulating and engaging interface that is sure to appeal to children on the autism spectrum.  Learning social skills can be critical for an individual with autism to succeed independently.”

Computers are given to schools with autism-specific classrooms that could not otherwise afford to purchase them. To date the foundation has distributed close to 500 computers to families and schools in New York and New England.

In its initial phase, The Social Express is a 16-lesson interactive video-modeling social skills learning program. Parents, professionals, and educators of special needs children like the high-quality, Hollywood-style animation that holds their attention without over stimulation and the scenes that reinforce the best choices for kids to make in social situations.

Children with autism, ADHD, Asperger’s, and other social-emotional deficits find the characters engaging and many ask to use it every day. Learn more about The Social Express by visiting the website: http://thesocialexpress.com/

About Brighten Learning, Inc.:

Brighten Learning™, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2008, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California.  The company develops The Social Express™ and other interactive social skills software and learning management systems. The company’s mission is to help special needs children with social-emotional deficits to improve their lives. The company’s video modeling social skills learning programs help children with ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s, and related disorders to improve their interactions with others. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/

About The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism:

The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, Inc. was established in 1998 by Doug Flutie and his wife, Laurie, in honor of their 20  year old son, Doug, Jr. who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. The Flutie Foundation’s mission is to support families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Foundation is committed to increasing awareness of the challenges of living with autism and helping families find resources to help address those challenges. We provide individuals with autism and their families an opportunity to improve their quality of life by funding educational, therapeutic, recreational and advocacy programs. For more information on The Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, please contact Maria Baez at the Ebben Zall Group at (781) 449-3244, or visit www.flutiefoundation.org.

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The Social Express Attends Special Needs Education CASE Conference

Social-skills-special-education-CASE-conferenceSan Diego, CA (PRWEB) September 30, 2012

The Social Express™, creators of a new social skills learning software program for special needs children, is attending the Annual CASE Conference from November 1-3 in Scottsdale. The Social Express was voted Most Likely to Succeed at SIIA’s Ed Tech Summit in May.

The company joins top special education leaders at the 23rd annual CASE conference. The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) is an international professional educational organization which is affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) whose members are dedicated to the enhancement of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of each individual in society.

“We’ve been humbled by the amazing reception and feedback we’ve received from special needs Read more

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Social Skills Learning Firm Attends EdNET 2012 in Baltimore

Our President, Jon Cornick, and I are all set for our trip to the upcoming EdNET 2012 Conference. EdNET is a premier networking event for the Education that’s so well attended, this is its 24th year!

We’re really looking forward to meeting many of the top industry leaders in Education. We’ve been fortunate to have such an overwhelming and enthusiastic response to our social skills learning program, The Social Express, in our first (almost) year. We’re busy making plans to continue to grow our company and become leaders in social and emotional learning in Education.

If you’re attending EdNET 2012, let us know! It would be great to meet up. Here is our press release:

The Social Express Attends EdNET 2012 in Baltimore, September 30  – October 3

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) September 20, 2012

The Social Express™, creators of a new social skills learning management system, is attending EdNET 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland from September 30 to October 3. The Social Express was voted Most Likely to Succeed at SIIA’s Ed Tech Summit in May. The company joins over 550 executives and industry leaders at the 24th annual EdNET, the education industry’s premier event.

“The Social Express has received an incredibly enthusiastic reception in its first year. By providing exceptional curricula, analytics reporting, and other exciting content, The Social Express will continue it’s goal of becoming a leader in social and emotional learning in Education,” said company President Jon Cornick.

Cornick added, “EdNET is an excellent conference that provides our company with opportunities to Read more

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Director of Clinical Research at Marcus Autism Center Joins Advisory Board

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’re honored to have Dr. Celine Saulnier join our Advisory Board. She has invested her career in researching and helping children and young adults on the autism spectrum.

Dr. Saulnier shares with us a passion for finding new ways to help children diagnosed on the autism spectrum to improve their social skills.  Our press release is below.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) September 13, 2012

The Social Express™, a new creator of social skills software, today announced that it has appointed to its Advisory Board, Celine Saulnier, Ph.D. Dr. Saulnier currently serves as the Clinical Director for Research at the Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

At the Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Saulnier oversees the development Read more

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Social Learning Software Firm Presents at American Psychological Association Event

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’re so excited to be presenting at the 120th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, in Orlando. We’ll be at Booth #308. Stop by to visit with us if you’re attending!

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2012The-Social-Express-APA-2012-Convention

Brighten Learning, an interactive social learning software developer, will demonstrate its new program, The Social Express™, at the 120th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. The APA Convention is taking place August 2nd to 5th in Orlando and the company’s booth number is 308.

The Social Express is a new research-based, 16-lesson, social learning software program for children between the ages of five and 12 years. It uses interactive video modeling, movie quality animation, socially valid dialog, and original characters that children find engaging.

Each one of the 30 interactive scenes contains teachable moments and builds on the previous lesson. The teachable moments assist professionals and parents to reinforce social skills learning. The program can be paused at any point to facilitate discussion between the professional and the child.

Children with autism, Asperger’s and ADHD enjoy and request the program daily. They enjoy its engaging characters, realistic social dialog, Hollywood-quality animation, and interactive scenes.

According to President Jon Cornick, “ Read more

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Social Learning Software Firm Presents at Autism Society Conference

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our team is going to be at the Autism Society National Conference next week. We’re excited about sharing what we’ve learned about social learning software as an educational tool for children with autism.

Please visit us if you’re attending the Conference. We’d love to meet you! Here is our news release:

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 19, 2012—Brighten Learning, a developer of interactive social learning software, will demonstrate its new program, The Social Express™, at the 43rd annual Autism Society National Conference and Exposition on July 25-27 in San Diego.

The Social Express is a new 16-lesson social learning software program for children between the ages of five and 12 years. It uses interactive video modeling, movie quality animation, socially valid dialog, and original characters that children find engaging.

Each one of the 30 interactive scenes contains teachable moments and builds on the previous lesson. The teachable moments assist professionals and parents to reinforce social skills learning.

Children with autism, Asperger’s and ADHD enjoy and request the program. They enjoy its realistic social dialog, Hollywood-quality animation, and interactive components.

According to President Jon Cornick, “Brighten Learning team is excited to meet and share our social learning best practices with professionals Read more

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Mom Calls Social Learning Software Amazing

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]San Diego, CA (PRWEB) June 19, 2012

Katie Holler, a mother of five daughters including three diagnosed on the autism spectrum, finds that The Social Express is a valuable educational tool in her toolbox. She believes there are lots of learning apps available, but nothing that presents the skills she has set as goals for her daughters like The Social Express™.

The Social Express is a new 16-lesson social learning software program for children between the ages of five and 12 years. It uses interactive video modeling, movie quality animation and original characters that children find engaging. Each one of the 30 interactive scenes contains teachable moments to help parents reinforce learning.

The Social Express Is Movie-Like

According to Katie Holler, “The Social Express is pretty amazing. When you use it, it’s almost like watching an animated Hollywood movie. Except it’s interactive and I can stop the program at any time to talk with my daughters about the choices the characters in social situations can make.”

Holler continued, “The teaching tips included in The Social Express Guide are one of the best things for me. I’ve learned how to reinforce the social lessons when my daughters and I are out and about. As a mom of special needs children, I just try to use every resource I can. Especially one that helps me teach and reinforce the skills we are working with the children on in school and therapy sessions.”

Holler finds that The Social Express works equally well for both her higher functioning children with autism and her lower functioning daughter.

This Social Skills App is a Good Investment

Holler considers the program to be one of the best tools that she’s found because it’s helpful and informative. Holler said, “I highly recommend it to other parents of children with special needs. It helps me a lot. I consider The Social Express a worthwhile investment because it hits on all of the major social skills goals we have for our children. That includes learning social cues, pragmatic skills, non-verbal skills, and inferencing.”

About Brighten Learning, Inc.

Brighten Learning, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2008, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California. The company develops The Social Express™ and other interactive social learning software. The company’s mission is to help children with ADHD, Autism and Asperger’s to improve their lives by teaching social skills using video modeling. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Social Learning Software Startup Presents at ISTE 2012 in San Diego

Social-Learning-Software-Presents-ISTE12We are excited to be sharing our social learning software program at next week’s ISTE conference with tech educators coming in from all over the planet.

It’s the 33rd annual ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference and exposition June 24-27 in San Diego. That’s right here in our home town of San Diego.

Here is our news release. If you’re attending ISTE12 next week, stop by our booth (5226) and say hello!

Social Learning Software Startup Presents at ISTE 2012 in San Diego

Brighten Learning to share new interactive social skills development program with educators.

 

Brighten Learning, a developer of interactive social learning software, will demonstrate its new social learning app, The Social Express™ at the 33rd annual ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference and exposition June 24-27 in San Diego.

The Social Express is a new 16-lesson social learning software program for students between the ages of five and 12 years. It uses interactive video modeling, movie quality animation, socially valid dialog, and original characters that students find engaging. Each one of the 30 interactive scenes contains teachable moments that assist educators to reinforce social skills learning.

According to President Jon Cornick, “Brighten Learning team is excited to meet and share ideas with the tech savvy educators that are coming from across the globe to participate in ISTE!”

“Brighten Learning will show educators how easy it is to use our social learning software program, project it on a classroom whiteboard, and pause the program when needed. The pause feature makes it easy for educators to discuss the social situation choices available to the characters in each scene of The Social Express,” Cornick added.

Educators in a wide variety of environments and populations use The Social Express. Students enjoy and request the program because of its realistic social dialog, Hollywood-quality animation, and interactive components.

Based on feedback from educators, The Social Express works equally well for students with a wide variety of levels of social skill deficits. Students with autism, Asperger’s, ADHD as well as more typical children experiencing social learning challenges will benefit from interacting with the program in a classroom environment.

The company’s ISTE12 booth (#5226) will provide iPads with demonstration versions of The Social Express social learning software app.

About Brighten Learning, Inc.

Brighten Learning, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2008, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California. The company develops The Social Express™ and other interactive social learning software. The company’s mission is to help children with ADHD, Autism and Asperger’s to improve their lives by teaching social skills using video modeling. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/

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New Autism Social Learning Software Takes Top SIIA Ed Tech Summit Award

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 23, 2012—Brighten Learning, creator of social learning software for children with autism, was voted the Most Likely to Succeed at The Software & Information Industry Ed Tech Summit on May 9, 2012.  The company’s first autism education software program, The Social Express, took home the coveted SIIA Ed Tech Summit Innovation Incubator award. The 350 conference attendees also voted the company a Runner Up in the Most Innovative category.

“We’re honored to receive these awards from the SIIA Ed Tech Summit,” said Marc Zimmerman, Founder and CEO. “We value this recognition and the feedback from parents about how The Social Express has helped their children.” Zimmerman continued, “Moms have told us they credit The Social Express with helping their kids with autism to begin forming friendships with other children. That really makes it all worthwhile!”

Parents and teachers of autistic children have given The Social Express, a 16-lesson interactive video modeling program, high marks for focusing on the right social skills. They also value the high-quality, Hollywood-style animation that holds children’s attention without over stimulation and the scenes that reinforce the best choices for kids to make in social situations.

Children find the characters appearing in The Social Express really engaging and many kids ask to work with The Social Express everyday. Users of the program say that it increases social awareness and learning in students with autism and promotes both social interaction and play.

When Zimmerman’s 10-year-old identical twin autistic boys joined mainstream classes, he realized that social learning was going to be key to their ability to interact well with classmates. That was the catalyst for Zimmerman to recruit the expert team that developed The Social Express. The company was bootstrapped from its founding through development and rollout of the first product. The company recently received its first seed funding which will be used to develop additional social learning software products.

About Brighten Learning, Inc.

Brighten Learning, founded by parents of autistic twins in 2008, is a privately held company based in Encinitas, California.  The company develops The Social Express™ and other interactive social learning software. The company’s mission is to help children with ADHD, Autism and Asperger’s to improve their lives by teaching social skills using video modeling. Visit the company at http://thesocialexpress.com/

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