AUSTIN — Technology is helping some Austin ISD schools evaluate a student's mental state.
The app is called reThinkIt! and its goal is to identify harmful behavior and to get students help before a crisis. reThinkIt! is for third-graders through high school seniors.
When students log on to the app, mobile mentors on the app encourage children to express their feelings.
"This app really does help the counselors, the assistant vice principals, get to the heart of the matter of what's going on with the child, it helps them open up, instead of spending those precious few minutes of trying to get that child to trust them," said Amy Looper, the co-founder and COO of reThinkIt!.
Looper said her app has allowed kids to tell their sides of the story through the 17 questions.
She said while it's often difficult for children to open up to adults, it's easy for kids to answer questions on a tablet. That's why the app is able to get so much more data.
"We are able to get more robust understanding in a child's mind sooner in the process so we can get them the help that they need rather than hearing it on the news," said Looper.
That's why mother of two Shelly Brand thinks reThinkIt! is a good idea.
Her daughter, Maddie, is a second-grader in AISD. She knows firsthand how hard it can be to get kids to talk, especially if there may be discipline involved.
"No one likes to get in trouble, no one likes to be the focus of potentially negative attention. They tend to clam up and, yeah, it takes a lot of time," said Brand.
And that's where reThinkIt! comes in, helping counselors reach out to students before it's too late.
AISD has been using the app for the past year-and-a-half.
reThinkIt!'s success has launched a second app, ThinkingApp, designed for pre-K through second-graders. Similar in concept with fewer questions.