Building tools that don't exist yet.
P31 Labs, Inc. is a Georgia nonprofit corporation creating free, open-source assistive technology for neurodivergent families. 501(c)(3) application in process.
Will Johnson
Founder & President
ORCID: 0009-0002-2492-9079
16 years as a civilian electrical engineering technician (GS-0802-12) for the Department of Defense. Specialized in power systems, control theory, and safety-critical infrastructure. That background — grounding floating neutrals, building redundancy into systems that cannot fail — is exactly what P31 Labs applies to assistive technology.
Late-diagnosed AuDHD (autism + ADHD) at 39. Hypoparathyroidism since 2003 — a condition that creates measurable, well-documented Ca²⁺ dysregulation with neurological consequences. That experience reframed everything: why standard productivity tools never worked, why sensory environments that other people tolerate are genuinely disabling, why the existing assistive technology market either infantilizes its users or prices them out.
P31 Labs exists because the tools neurodivergent families need don't exist yet. Not in the app store, not behind a $200/month subscription, not locked in a clinician's office. So we build them — free, open-source, designed for brains that work differently.
Why Phosphorus-31?
Phosphorus-31 (³¹P) is the only stable isotope of phosphorus and the only biologically available spin-½ nucleus without an electric quadrupole moment. This makes it uniquely observable via nuclear magnetic resonance — you can non-invasively measure it in living tissue.
Matthew Fisher's 2015 hypothesis in Annals of Physics proposes that Posner molecules (Ca⁹(PO₄)₆) could maintain quantum coherence in biological systems long enough to influence cognition. Phosphorus-31 spin states are the proposed qubit. If Fisher is right, your brain runs quantum computation on phosphorus.
We named the organization after that nucleus because: (1) the founder has hypoparathyroidism — a calcium regulation disorder with documented cognitive effects — making this personal; (2) the name forces the question of whether consciousness is computable, which is the right question for a cognitive prosthetics lab to be asking.
The Trimtab Principle
A trimtab is a tiny rudder on the trailing edge of a ship's main rudder. Moving the trimtab takes almost no force but creates a pressure differential that turns the main rudder, which then turns the entire ship. Buckminster Fuller used this as a metaphor for how individuals can create systemic change by acting at the right leverage point.
P31 Labs operates as a trimtab. We don't fight the system — we find the leverage points. Free tools that families can use today. Research that creates precedent. Transparent operations that demonstrate the model works. The goal isn't to build a big organization; it's to shift the conditions so that better tools become inevitable.
Our Mission
For Families
Free tools that help neurodivergent families manage energy, communicate safely, and stay connected across distance. No accounts, no tracking, no ads. Your data stays on your device.
For Kids
Educational technology designed for how kids actually learn — through play, discovery, and building things together. Difficulty modes that adapt to each child's age and ability.
For Co-Parents
Documented engagement tools that timestamp every interaction. When proximity isn't possible, technology can prove that a parent showed up — to the millisecond.
Open Source
Every line of code is public. Every design decision is documented. We build in a glass box because accessibility is a human right, not a business model.