Prior Insight is our big data platform which we believe can fundamentally alter care and education provision for autistic individuals with complex needs. The insights it can generate allow us to provide better support.

The complex needs of the young people at Prior’s Court means information needs to be collected on every aspect of their lives - information that enables us to track the progress they make and informs us about ways in which we can improve this progress and the outcomes they achieve.

Every day, our Autism Practitioners log hundreds of pieces of data about young people at Prior's Court - food and drink intake, bowel movements, skills progression, incidents and more.

Harnessing the power of modern digital technology to store and interrogate these large amounts of data, the system provides insights into the complexities of the individuals we support, enabling a better understanding and mapping of behaviours. Through a better understanding, we can predict behaviour, analyse potential illness, or health concerns and intervene where needed.

But Prior Insight does so much more than this. It hosts our staff rotas, our policies and procedures, HR systems, internal communications, vehicle bookings, accident reporting, a Parent Portal for families to access data and so much more. It is at the centre of what we do.

Impact on Prior's Court and the wider autism community

In addition to its fundamental purpose of improving the quality of life for autistic young people with complex needs, Prior Insight is also transforming the way Prior’s Court operates. We anticipate the impact on the young people we support but also the wider autism community will be immense, based on :

• a better understanding of the young people we support and how to help them have more good days
• a speedier understanding of why things happen
• happier young people, better able to thrive and learn
• a better understanding of autism which we can share with the wider autism community.

Prior Insight in action – helping autistic young people

Example 1

After a sickness bug, it was identified that one young person appeared to have developed an almost phobic response to food, with data from Prior Insight supporting anecdotal evidence from his parents and residential staffing teams.

Prior Insight supported a multi-disciplinary approach by providing a platform to analyse data points such as meal time lengths, fruit and vegetable intakes, the balance of his diet, and reassurance behaviours, in addition to basic data such as weight.

The young person has regained a healthy weight and continues to develop a positive relationship with food.

Example 2

Prior Insight supported the team in a young person's residential home to identify a pattern of crippling migraines which prevented him attending education.

While migraines were the cause suspected by the young person's family and his support workers, Prior Insight allowed for data around behaviour patterns and periods of withdrawal to be easily interpreted and compared, allowing for remedial action to be successfully implemented. Subsequently, behavioural incidents halved and the young person's school attendance improved.

Published : 2nd December, 2023

Updated : 27th March, 2024

Author : Rachel Drinkwater

Share this page