TASP

The Austism Screening Project (TASP) recieved funding through ACT Now in Autumn 2017. 

TASP is empowering parents by bringing them an educational, interactive and info-graphic pre-screening tool for autism and other-related neurodevelopmental disorders.

PhD student Hanis and her team speak to us about the incredible work of TASP. 

Where did you draw inspiration for your enterprise? 

Inspiration came from my own daughter, as I sought help when I had a scare if she had autism. When I did a search via Google e.g. ‘my baby can’t talk at age of 2’, autism always came on top of the list. I felt lost and overwhelmed at the same time. It didn’t help too when negative remarks were made to my child. I wished at that time that I had an app/or at least a feature on a website showing a risk score for a child’s development getting autism. I hope that this enterprise can reduce the stigmatisation ofautism and other mental health disorders in society. People should have a clear picture about this issue before they speak out or commenting on a parents style. 

What does the future look like for your project?

I am pursuing this enterprise because I am confident that it can fill in the gap of autism early detection, especially in developing countries where policies and interventions targeted at early childhood development are still lacking. Additionally there’s growing interest on risk prediction tools, so once I launch the ‘base’ of this enterprise project, I am aiming to seek more funding to take advantages of machine learning technology to drive the enterprise’s growth.   

How do you manage your enterprise alongside your studies? 

I think my passion drive me forward, be it in my PhD studies or enterprise project. I genuinely care about bringing solutions for autism early detection as I am personally know how bewildering an autism diagnosis can be. Also communicating your ideas and delegating tasks to your partner, friends, and your enterprise team are essential because sometimes it can be overwhelming just to do it on your own. Seek help if you feel you are nearly giving up. Trust me, it helps.

How has ACT Now funding impacted your project? 

Negotiations on a licensing agreement has been on-going for quite awhile since I was selected as semi-finalist for Althea Imperial 2017 and ACT Now funding definitely boost my confidence to seal the agreement.

Why should students take a chance on their own social enterprise ideas? 

Imperial College provides a good ecosystem for students to experience the entrepreneurial journey as a student. It has been enriching journey for me so far. You never know if you don’t try.