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STAMFORD, Conn. To mark Autism Awareness Month this April, Autism Speaks will give away 180 iPads to families with autistic children. And thanks to Jim McClafferty of Stamford, those iPads will be outfitted with several free applications that can help those kids.
The organization asked him to donate his application, See. Touch. Learn., for the giveaway. But McClafferty wasnt satisfied with the contribution, which is worth about $4,000. He decided to go further and reached out to other developers with applications that can be helpful for children with autism.
He then received approval from 43 developers for 1,000 applications worth about $3,500. Once news about the giveaway spread, the contributions jumped to $17,000 in applications as more developers joined the cause, McClafferty said.
It was real rewarding to see that number go up and up, he said.
Getting the donations wasnt easy, because Apple has strict rules and gives developers only 50 copies of each application to give out for free. Even when purchased, the codes are good for only a couple of weeks, he said. So the other developers are buying and sending codes McClaffertys way this week, as he organizes a system to make sure each iPad recipient receives their share of free applications.
Each recipient will also get a complete list of all the developers and their applications, so they can purchase the applications they didnt get for free, he said. Here is a list of all developers that have donated applications.
McClaffertys relationship with Autism Speaks began when he formed his company, Brain Parade, just more than a year ago. After participating in a number of events to help the organization, joining the giveaway was an easy decision for him, he said.
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