Teen creates apps to help people with special needs

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Johnny Ciocca is a self-taught app maker, who, at only 17 years of age, has already launched 35 apps.

While his portfolio features everything from retro-style arcade games to practical tools that keep people on schedule, the Bonita Springs teen's most important work has been helping people with special needs lead more social lives.

His inspiration comes from older brother Christian, who has Down syndrome.

“He wanted to get some friends,” said Ciocca, a junior at Estero High School. “We wanted to create a way for him to meet new people.”

Estero High brothers form 'Fantastic Friends' chapter

And that idea was sparked nearly two years ago when the Ciocca family moved to Southwest Florida from New Jersey. While up North, Christian was part of a thriving social community that the whole family could enjoy.

This includes his ties to an organization called Fantastic Friends, which pairs teens and young adults who have special needs with volunteers of the same age and interests, as well as Bringing Up Down Syndrome, or BUDS, which operates on the same premise.

"Once we moved out here, we realized there wasn’t a place to find stuff for Christian, like activities," said his father John Ciocca, a special education teacher at Three Oaks Elementary School. "It was hard."

This spurred the family to launch a Fantastic Friends chapter, a process that kicked off in November. As word about the monthly social events has spread, so has the app work being done by Johnny.

The most successful is an app called MyVoice —Tap or Type to Talk, which was launched last May. This program brings what's called a PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) book into the digital world.

Non-verbal children and adults might carry these books around with them so they can communicate with others, and it works by having an individual point to or pull out pictures to string together phrases or sentences. The pictures are often organized by subject, such as fruits, and can take several minutes for a message to be shared.

But that process is made easier with the help of MyVoice. Not only does the app streamline the information, but with a few swipes and clicks, the app will speak for a person, giving them a real voice.

The application includes a function for mirror talk as well, which uses the selfie side of a camera to help people stretch their mouths like they would with a speech pathologist, either as a child or if recovering from an illness, such as a stroke.

"One lady, she’s your typical lady, but she had gone for a surgery for her throat. She told us she used it to communicate with her kids for a couple weeks when she

couldn’t really talk," John Ciocca said.

Since its launch in May, the $3.99 app has been downloaded 150 times. And it seems the broad range of users for this app caught the attention of Apple pretty early, with Johnny receiving an email requesting promotional images of the app within a month of it going public.

The app has generated a lot of interest in education circles, and a school in Australia is considering buying copies for all of its iPads.

His latest creation, a social network called youBelong, is also gaining some traction since its launch two weeks ago. Its goal is to help people with special needs, as well as their families, connect in a safe, online environment.

The idea is similar to Facebook, and encourages its members to share photos, comment on each other's posts, and spread the word about local events and organizations geared toward helping people with special needs.

The genesis for this platform stems from Johnny's first attempt at app making, which was centered around the idea of pairing online dating with people who have special needs.

When the app, called Specially Abled Dating, was bogged down with coding issues and never really took off, Johnny moved on, but never really stopped thinking about it.

"I continued working on apps, but that just helped me build the skills needed to get it to actually work," he said.

Johnny, whose bedroom is packed with "toys" like a drone, a robot and even a 3D printer, has always had an interest in computers and problem-solving. He found his way into programming during the summer of 2012, and tapped into a website called Code Academy to start learning different coding languages.

His love of coding grew from there, and soon the teen made the leap into app building. For this, he invested in textbooks and videos, and began researching the how-tos of the app world through Apple.

Twice now he has attended Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on scholarship, making him one of a few hundred students to share in the latest technology trends with thousands of developers from around the world. He's hoping to go again this year, and recently found out he has been picked for a lunch and learn session at Disney this August with one of its imagineers.

Since releasing his latest app, youBelong, to the public on March 4, the free application has been downloaded 35 times, and is quickly becoming a favorite activity for Christian, who is 18 and a senior at Estero High.

"I like everything," Christian said of the app. "I like to comment with my brother, because I do love my brother a lot."

As he spoke, the two were snuggled up next to each other on the chaise lounge in the living room. It's a scene parents John and Maria have seen since they were babies, and a bond that has helped fuel Johnny's desire to make life more fun for his older brother.

It reminds their father of when the boys were little, and their playtime was filled with Legos and K'nex towers.

"Johnny has always been a kid that loved building stuff," his dad said. "He actually used to build a lot of stuff actually for his brother, too. Like he would build like a house for the two of them to sit in, and they would bring the dog. It looked like they are right now, except they would be surrounded by a big, giant K'nex building."

The next thing Johnny will be building is college applications, as he wants to study computer science in the hopes of one day landing one of his dream jobs — becoming a software engineer at SpaceX or working for Disney as an imagineer.

While he plugs away at these ambitions, you can bet his attention will never wander too far away from brother Christian and his desire to better connect exceptional people together.

Thinking about his latest app, youBelong, Johnny said: "We want there to be a one-stop place to go, and there isn’t one. We need to fix that."

Other examples of Ciocca Apps

• Busy Bee — Tasks, Reminders and Notes: this app helps people stay on task, and on time, as they go about their day. It sells for 99 cents in the App Store, and is all about time management. 
• Slowanella: this is a free game featuring "a pudgy yet joyful teen" who is on a mission to find "sweets and treats," but avoid as many fruits and vegetables as possible.
• C3D — 3D Modeling: this 99-cent app allows users to draw 3D models on their phone, which they can then share with their friends on social media.
• The Edges: this app is a throwback to arcade games, with the goal being to not let a ball bounce into the edges of the screen. It is free.

Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @NP_pstaik 

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