SETU software development student, Darren Maher and his co-creator Ava McGrk, have developed a new online application to support recreational therapists in creating individual therapy plans for clients.
His latest co-creation, ReCreo, is an app for recreational therapists that supports healthcare providers in building individualised therapy plans for clients. The app aims to increase face-to-face interaction between therapist and client, by cutting down on the amount of administration hours required outside of sessions.
ReCreo was brought to life when Darren and Ava took part in the Patch summer programme at Dublin’s Dogpatch labs. Patch is an accelerator programme for young people aged 16 to 21 who want to build projects that push society forward. Participants are interested in driving innovation in science, engineering, design, technology, and entrepreneurship.
Darren and Ava’s personal experience was the inspiration for developing technology to help in the vital area of recreational therapy.
“Both Ava and I have experience of younger relatives being in long term care, which is where the idea of therapeutic recreation (TR) first came from,” Darren explained.
“TR can help children with long term illnesses to restore the confidence they may have lost as a result of an extended stay in hospital. It uses a ‘therapy-through-play’ approach that helps to enhance a child’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. This is particularly important for kids who have had to spend a significant amount of time in hospital, away from their everyday settings with friends and family,” said Darren.
“Our hope for ReCreo is that it allows for increased face-to-face therapy between therapists and their clients by reducing the amount of time that therapists have to spend on repetitive admin,” Darren added.
Since finishing the Patch programme, Darren has been selected for the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) pre-accelerator programme. The NDRC will help Darren continue to refine ReCreo and eventually build a tool that makes all therapists jobs easier.
Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), today announces that its digital mapping system is being used by Sport Ireland to digitally map over 12,000 recreational locations and facilities across the island of Ireland.
Sport Ireland has launched Get Ireland Active, a national digital hub which maps sports and recreation facilities, walking and cycling trails, public parks, and other amenities around the country to promote higher levels of physical activity.
Sport Ireland is the national authority responsible for developing sport and outdoor recreation in Ireland. Based on Esri’s ArcGIS system, Sport Ireland and Derilinx created Get Ireland Active, which anticipates over 15,000 visitors per month and aims to inspire people to get involved in sport and other recreational activities to improve their health and wellbeing.
The interactive digital map addresses the need for a single, authoritative source of data about sports facilities in Ireland that can provide ways for citizens to become more active, and can also be used to support policy decisions and inform the development of new facilities.
Validated data, for the whole of Ireland, is available to stakeholders via the fully interactive online data hub, created with ArcGIS Hub Premium. Users can collate, verify, analyse, and share data in real-time, including development, planning, and socio-demographic information. This provides actionable insights and allows policy makers in central and local government, sporting bodies, and other stakeholders to analyse gaps in the provision of services and easily identify development land or other potential areas that might be available to site new facilities.
Sport Ireland conducted audits of all sports facilities in Ireland to create the central data hub, which is flexible and scalable and will continue to be updated as data is made available.
Dr Úna May, CEO, Sport Ireland, said: “Esri Ireland’s expertise has been crucial in bringing the Get Ireland Active database to life. Their technology allows us to offer a user-friendly platform that has comprehensive information about recreational activities across Ireland.
“Technology is transforming how we approach our everyday lives, and it’s vital that we use this to our benefit. Our collaboration with Esri Ireland has made this a reality, and we are excited to build upon this work through the continued development of the Get Ireland Active database.”
Padraig Quinn, Senior Account Manager, Esri Ireland, said: “We are proud to have supported the development of the Get Ireland Active national database, Ireland’s interactive activity, sport, and recreation hub. The benefits of having an interactive hub which can direct members of the public to their closest sport or recreation facilities are invaluable, especially coming into the winter months. Furthermore, the hub will continue to inform future development of sporting facilities across Ireland and embed a love of sport and the outdoors for both present and future generations. We are looking forward to continuing to work with Sport Ireland as the hub continues to grow.”
A progressive Irish Tech company has developed the first app in Europe to give people with disabilities information on a wide range of accessible amenities across the country.
Regarded as a major breakthrough in the promotion of accessible facilities, Able Active builds on technology designed for participation in sport, with considerable input from potential service users and advocacy groups.
Able Active, a fully integrated and comprehensive app that signposts accessible recreational facilities for people with disabilities is the fruition of a long-term project, developed with support from the European Space Agency following a successful application.
Able Active uniquely captures feedback and gradings on accessibility and inclusivity, based on real users’ experience, by distinct disability categories, ensuring that others with similar needs can trust the rating and have better confidence that their needs will be met.
Speaking at the launch of Able Active, Adrian Geissel CEO said
“Able Active is the result of 6 years of investment and software development, applying data for the benefit of people with differing types of disabilities and with deep commitment to data privacy and safeguarding”.
“I am passionate about outdoors pursuits and sport, and passionate that they are accessible for all. People living with disabilities should have access to outdoor amenities and facilities suitable for their needs and Able Active provides deeper information that aims to inform and hopefully inspire greater participation for their enjoyment, health and wellbeing. This is so important for people who have varying levels of disability, many of which are hidden.
Able Active is a fully integrated and highly user-friendly guide which maps tracks, trails and amenities and allows each user to determine if these routes are suitable for their particular needs, supported by the ratings and feedback from other users with similar needs. It allows people plan their days around the various amenities from forests to beaches and gives ‘real time ‘live data on weather and pinpoints where safety equipment is located, crucial to ensure safety for users. It also allows for users to record, replay and repeat their own favourite routes which is very valuable”.
“It is interactive so will allow people with disabilities to rate on accessibility based on their experience, which is vital for both their peers and for the owners or providers of the amenities as they can use this information to further adapt the facilities in order to make them more accessible and user friendly”.
“Able Active allows for inclusivity in the fullest sense as users can record trails, save their favourite routes and research amenities to plan future outings with friends ,family or indeed for informal or formal groups”
“It allows for users to connect with family and friends through the app and for group leaders, to plan ,share and co ordinate activities for any gatherings and this helps to bolster safety and security as well as strengthen the community of people with disabilities”.
“Facilities including accessible toilets and parking, surfaces, obstacles, inclines or declines can be detailed”.
“The wonderful thing too is that people with an interest in full inclusion for those living with disabilities to get involved, to identify amenities they know to be accessible, in addition to using many available databases”.
“Able Active is a community platform for gathering new data that is important to the community. For example, disabled parking spots outside of urban areas, especially at amenity or trailhead locations can be submitted through the app”.
“This is a very important platform for amenity operators and sports organisations to connect with this community of users, highlighting the investments they’ve made to support their needs and also to understand how these supports are valued by their users.”.
“There is so much potential for collaboration and partnership across the entire range of amenities, organisations and events and this is only going to be an incredibly positive way forward for people living with a disability”.
“This only the start of a journey, where we look to present more options where people with disabilities can be active, based on the experiences of others with similar needs and in doing so, make being active a more inclusive experience, for all. “
This is a vision shared by Sarah Kerrigan, project lead for Able Active, who adds “I love the outdoors, but know from personal experience how little information is available on the accessibility of trails and other amenities. Working with Able Active allows me to make sure that the app and platform meets the needs of our users and for those who, like me, also want to share their knowledge to help others benefit from nature and being active. “
