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

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.