Alea Diagnostics and Children's Mercy Kansas City Announce the Lorestry App for Parent Empowerment in Children's Health

CONCORD, Mass. and KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alea Diagnostics, a company dedicated to supporting child development and wellness monitoring, has announced a collaboration with Children's Mercy Kansas City, a leading independent pediatric health organization in launching  the Lorestry™ app – a free digital tool for parents and other caregivers to create a timeline of their child's life, experiences, and early development.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has reported for over two decades that one in six children have developmental delays, but less than 25 percent receive early intervention before age 3. Most children with emotional, behavioral, and developmental conditions, other than autism, do not receive help before the age of 5. For children of color and for children awaiting a diagnosis of a rare condition, delays are often longer.

In a March 2022 special article in the AAP Pediatrics journal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the AAP identified the need for tools that can address improved child developmental monitoring in conjunction with periodic developmental screening.

"Lorestry was developed to support the parent's role as their child's advocate," said Linda Craib, RN, MBA, Founder and CEO, Alea Diagnostics. "We designed a digital storybook that gathers data about a child's developmental firsts, favorites, and language emergence into a health history that can be shared by the parent. Data collected about a child should benefit them first and foremost. Our goal is to empower the parent with memories and meaningful data that supports their child's well-being."

The collaboration between Alea Diagnostics and Children's Mercy reflects a shared vision to embrace digital solutions that are child-centered and engage parents as collaborative partners. Both organizations strive to improve access to care for all children regardless of health status, geolocation, race, or income.

"Data collection in real-time allows for a clearer picture of developmental milestone ranges," said Robert Steele, MD, MBA, Executive VP, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Children's Mercy. "By better determining these timeframes, and supporting the parent and provider relationship, children who are experiencing delays can be recognized sooner, which should lead to earlier intervention."

Lorestry is a free app available on the App Store. 

Alea Diagnostics

Alea Diagnostics is the category leader in children's life storytelling, and the creator of Lorestry, the world's most useful and important story book. For more information go to AleaDiagnostics.com.

Children's Mercy

Children's Mercy is a leading independent children's health organization dedicated to holistic care, translational research, educating caregivers and breakthrough innovation to create a world of well-being for all children. U.S. News & World Report has repeatedly ranked Children's Mercy as one of "America's Best Children's Hospitals." More than 850 pediatric subspecialists, researchers and faculty across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research and education of the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. Visit Children's Mercy and the Children's Mercy Research Institute.

SOURCE Alea Diagnostics