Parents win subsidised access to gaming app that treats childhood autism and ADHD
Health & Biotech
share
Parents with children suffering from autism and other conditions can now access subsidised games for improving kids concentration after an approval by the National Disability Insurance Agency.
TALI Train — a game-based training program used to treat childhood difficulties — has been recognised under the National Disability Insurance Scheme as a valuable treatment for autism, ADHD and Down syndrome.
The TALI Train app is owned by TALI Health — a subsidiary of listed Novita Healthcare (ASX:NHL).
Novita (ASX:NHL) told investors NDIS approval validated the app’s benefits – especially when pitted against medical treatments such as Ritalin, which only treat symptoms.
“This type of early intervention strategy has shown long-term benefits for children. By helping treat attention issues, it can help improve numerical and academic outcomes.
“As more parents and clinicians avoid using medicine as a first point of treatment for children, ‘digital therapies’ like TALI Train are gaining traction as the new frontier in early intervention.”
Shares in the company were trading up 10 per cent on the news at 3.3c by 12.20pm AEST.
The NDIS is being rolled out to all States besides WA, opening up the program to the 140,000 participants with autism as their primary disability – 40 per cent of whom are under 14.
Approval from the NDIS means suitable participants can have the total cost of TALI Train covered by the scheme.
TALI Train is one of the few cognitive training programs that has been designed by scientists and validated through clinical trials. It was developed by Monash University neuroscientists and is an example of local Australian innovation.
In April 2018, TALI Train was commercially released to the Australian market and the company hopes take up by NDIS participants will kick off next quarter.
