Student's Choice

Floreo VR: Autism Therapy

Introduction:

Floreo VR therapy is designed to replicate real world scenarios to empower children with autism. Through the use of the headset children will have the opportunity to practice and learn social, behavioral, communication and life skills. Lesson plans simulate encounters they might have on a day to day bases in a controlled environment with the aid of a coach. The coach will keep the children on track, wait for their response and prompt them with the next task.

How to use

The children would use an iPhone along with the a VR headset to get full immersed in the world. While the coach would use an iPad to guide the students through the lesson plan. The coach can see the child's screen and get them back on track if they lose focus. Based on the child's response the coach can respond to the user, determine if they need more time with the lesson/task, or could continue on.

Intended Users

The goal of the application is specifically for children with ASD with organized lesson to empower them with social skills. The app is also for all those who are interested in helping the children such as teachers as an aid for their classrooms, therapist for one on one sessions and parents for more at home learning.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Learner

Teacher, Therapist, or a Parent

Teacher/Guider

In person or virtual

IS this good use of VR?

Most Children get bored when learning especially with repetition which is what children with ASD need. Almost all children want to spend time playing on phones or tablets which is why the VR immersion is a great solution for children. It allows children to enter an engaging world that is more fun for them to learn in. The app is easy to use only prompting children to speak or look in a certain directions with no walking around or learning controls to pick up stuff. The new world places children in a safe space for practicing social scenarios that are typically hard to replicate. The characters on the screen will respond according to the learners response or lack of it. It also eliminates distraction for the learners that would otherwise prevent them from learning. Focusing, Emotional Regulation, Social in School, and Safety are just a few of the skills that the children would obtain from the lessons.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Some children with ASD lack verbal communication with real humans but the simulated world gives them characters they would feel more comfortable to talk with.
Researchers are pairing up with the engineering team to create specific lesson plans for the children. All the lessons are continuously being updated or new ones are being added.
No specific headset is required just need one that will pair with a phone
Application is ready to download from Apple's app store
Unlike other VR application that can potentially harm people this applications keeps it simple and only requires the student to look around to get tasks completed
Unlike a game the computer doesn't dictate what comes next a real person is acting as the back end for the child
The lesson plans can be guided through a virtual call (i.e Zoom)
Increases distractions as the lesson plans progress to simulate a more real world representation

Cons:

The therapy sessions are only fully functional with iPad and iPhone. The app is only available for download on iOS
Requires a strong wifi connection for pairing. Could make interrupt the lesson plans
Based on some reviews the app has crashed on some people
Like most things in life this app might not be accessible to everyone, it requires a monthly subscription
Limited ability to modify for diffrent age groups. Currently best for children 7 and above. Though the lesson plans for only for the youth where older people could also benefit from the lessons
Guidance is great though there are no lesson plans where the user can interact independently