Stand Tall, a new app to help people with intellectual disabilities learn how to manage money and live independently, is being launched on Thursday 8 December.

IHC helped develop the new game app with online gaming company InGame and following a two-year process that has involved young testers who are neuro diverse, autistic and/or with an intellectual disability. The young testers were then able to give feedback on the real-life scenarios in the game.

Stand Tall is a character-based game app that challenges its players to think about day-to-day spending choices and consequences.

Phil Clarke, IHC Head of Library and Information Resourcing, says the idea of a resource to help young disabled people handle money was first discussed two years ago with the Holdsworth Charitable Trust. The Holdsworth Trust is a longstanding supporter of the IHC Library.

“We wanted to do something with teens with intellectual disability who were thinking of moving out of home. We knew that our initial audience would be people who were tech savvy,” Phil says.

InGame app designer Melanie Langlotz says in addition to workshops there was online testing to understand some of the struggles faced by disabled young people and to get feedback on how well Stand Tall was meeting their needs. But more than that, InGame wanted to involve some of the testers more deeply in the project.

The game offers real-life scenarios that involve budgeting and decision-making, and measures progress of money and wellbeing. Players can play at their own pace and repeat stages if necessary, and a voiceover option is also available for people who can’t read the screen.

The Holdsworth Charitable Trust donated $20,000 in seed funding for Stand Tall and post COVID-19, the Ministry of Social Development had funding available for initiatives to help people with disabilities stay active and connected in their communities. IHC received $75,000 from the fund.

Stand Tall will be officially launched in Auckland on 8 December, with the support of Avanti Finance, Glenn and Sonja Hawkins, The Dines Family Charitable Trust and Sky City Auckland Community Trust. Stand Tall is available now to download on Google Play and Apple.

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