Scottish Autism has launched AutNav, a new app for tablet devices, developed in partnership with the National Autistic Taskforce. The app has been developed following a generous legacy gift to Scottish Autism.

The app also delivers upon the vision of Dr Dinah Murray. The late Dr Murray was passionate about supporting the rights of autistic individuals with profound communication difficulties, often supported in long-term residential care, and saw AutNav as a method to enable them to communicate their interests, and interact with friends and wider family.  

AutNav is an app that brings together an individual's favourite content, and keeps it all in one place. It was developed so that autistic people, including those in supported settings, could have more autonomy, and more easily use technology to pursue their interests and keep in touch with friends and family.   

The app works by creating shortcuts to the individual's chosen content, so that they have easy access to:   

• The music they want to listen to   
• The videos they want to see   
• The people they want to speak to   
• The websites they want to visit   

AutNav is highly customisable, so individuals can modify it to suit their needs and preferences. It lets them organise their content in a way that makes sense to them, pick their favourite colour theme, and choose how much information they can see at once. They can also hide individual features depending on how they would like to interact with AutNav.

AutNav is specifically designed to work with the accessibility features already available on an individual's device. It supports both light and dark mode, and is compatible with a range of different text sizes.

Commenting, Charlene Tait, Deputy CEO of Scottish Autism said:  

"We are delighted to be able to launch this innovative app, developed in line with the wishes of the late Dinah Murray, and which can act as a fitting and powerful legacy to her work championing the rights of autistic people.

“We are grateful that a generous bequeathment enabled us to develop AutNav, and bring Dinah’s vision into being.

“Gifts in wills provide vital funding to allow us to develop new projects, like AutNav, and help us to both plan for the future and provide everyday services for the individuals we support.

"We know from the feedback we have received from the autistic people who have tested the app in its development that they find it beneficial and easy to use, and we are excited to see it rolled out and available to autistic people, not just in Scotland, but across the whole world." 

Kabie Brook, of Autism Rights Group Highland (ARGH) and a director of the National Autistic Taskforce, commented:

"I am absolutely delighted that Dinah Murray’s vision for AutNav has come to life, thanks to Scottish Autism and everyone who has worked hard to make the vision reality.

“AutNav will increase the autonomy of those autistic people and others who currently struggle to enjoy all the benefits of the internet that some of us take for granted."

AutNav can be accessed via the App Store and Google Play, and is free to download to a compatible tablet device. Find out more here.

If you would like to find out more about leaving a Gift in Your Will, please click here.