Creating an App in a Snap: Amberlynn Slavin ’08, G’15, Empowers Students Around the World
By Judith Kelliher
During her Level 1 fieldwork in the Master of Occupational Therapy (MSOT) program in January 2014, Amberlynn Slavin ’08, G’15, was assigned to an elementary school in Sunnyvale, Calif., to gain experience. It turned out to be a fortuitous assignment.
Through the fieldwork, she met a fifth grader named Steven who had been diagnosed with dysgraphia, a neurological condition that makes handwriting hard, which resulted in him having difficulty writing legibly, and no one able read his work. The young boy worked with an occupational therapist who tried everything to help him improve his penmanship, but nothing seemed to work. Slavin observed that the student was frustrated as he often fell behind in his classes simply because he couldn’t complete his written work like his peers.
“I remember thinking that there has to be a better way to help him keep up. That’s when I had an idea: What if he could take a picture of his worksheet with an iPad and type his answers directly on the screen? I searched the App Store, but couldn’t find anything simple enough for a child to use,” she said. “So, I sketched out my idea on a napkin and shared it with his OT over lunch. She loved it. That same week, I created a detailed mockup of the app and hired a developer across the world to bring it to life for $300, every bit of savings I had as a broke grad student.”
In February 2014, SnapType was born. Slavin’s assistive technology app supports students with handwriting, fine motor, visual, or processing challenges by allowing them to type or dictate directly onto photos of worksheets and classroom materials. Built in text-to-speech reads directions and content aloud, supporting students with decoding, visual tracking, attention, and working memory needs. SnapType reduces fine motor and reading barriers so students can access curriculum, demonstrate knowledge, and progress along their literacy journey with greater independence and confidence.
Since its beginnings, SnapType has been used by millions of students in more than 50 countries around the world. The app has been featured in OT Practice magazine and TechCrunch, awarded a grant to expand to Chromebooks, and won the American Occupational Therapy Association Inventors Showcase competition. For her innovation, she was recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Springfield College Occupational Therapy program.
Slavin, who is a pediatric occupational therapist, notes that SnapType has become a game changer in classrooms by empowering children with certain conditions, like dysgraphia, dyslexia, and ADHD, to fully participate and succeed in school.
“It’s incredible that something so simple can have such a life-changing impact, and I’m deeply grateful that my journey as a student at Springfield led me to create it,” said Slavin, who also earned a Movement and Sports Studies undergraduate degree with a concentration in Physical Education in 2008. “Without the supportive, hands-on education and mentorship I received at Springfield College that spark of inspiration might never have been lit.”
As a graduate student, Slavin was involved in several roles that she considered meaningful, and helped shape both her professional and personal growth. Among them, she was an active member of the Student Occupational Therapy Association; created a note card system in her anatomy class to help with studies that she shared with classmates and offered them free tutoring in the cadaver lab and library; and worked as a graduate assistant at East Campus where she taught numerous outdoor education sessions on the high and low ropes courses. Slavin found those experiences deeply rooted in leadership, a hallmark of Springfield College.
“I was learning how to lead with empathy, communication, and confidence. Those leadership lessons have stayed with me and continue to influence the way I lead and collaborate within my profession today,” she said.
Slavin believes that prospective students considering degrees in Health Science – Pre-Occupational Therapy and MSOT at Springfield College would receive a strong foundation, both academically and professionally, due to the combination of strong science coursework, hands-on fieldwork, and a supportive community. She credits those experiences with helping her develop the confidence and skills to think creatively, problem solve, and connect with people from all walks of life.
“My Springfield College education has taken me all over the world, as I’ve had the opportunity to practice occupational therapy and share my knowledge in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Oman, Mexico, and Spain. It’s a career that not only changes others’ lives, but constantly enriches my own,” she said.
For the work at SnapType, Slavin and her staff respond to customer emails, gather user feedback, plan app updates, and meet with educators in school districts to share ideas on how SnapType can better support students’ learning needs. She and her team are always looking to design new features to keep the app “intuitive and effective for classrooms worldwide,” she noted.
In 2024, her app caught the attention of Google when SnapType partnered with the technology giant as part of its Workspace for Education App Hub to launch SnapType EDU, which makes it easier for students who use Chromebooks to access the support they need.
Slavin enjoys telling her success story, whether as an invited guest on podcasts or returning to Alden Street regularly to share her experiences and insight as an entrepreneur with Occupational Therapy students. She is grateful that her career has influenced how she views challenges and opportunities in her own life.
“Through my work with SnapType and occupational therapy, I’ve learned the power of adaptability and creative problem solving, lessons I use daily as a parent and in my personal growth,” she said. “Seeing how technology can make life more inclusive has also made me more empathetic and intentional in how I approach others, both personally and professionally.”
When Slavin returned to the College for her graduate studies, she experienced a sort of déjà vu. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the gymnastics team for four years (selected as captain her senior year) and performed in the annual Gymnastics Exhibition Show, known as the home show. That connection to her sport continued in the graduate program.
“I had the privilege of serving as a graduate assistant coach for the gymnastics team and also helped coordinate the home show that I had grown to know and love so deeply,” she said. “It was a full-circle experience, giving back to the program and community that shaped so much of who I am today.”
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