The article is part of the Upstart series.
The man has always been interested in technology. He was in charge of the team that built and began Amazon Prime. He joined the Washington Post as chief digital officer and was involved in the sale of the newspaper to Jeff Bezos.
By late 2015, Mr. Ravindran was no longer working at the company. His main focus was his son, who was undergoing therapy for a neurological condition.
There was an amazing thing that happened.
When Mr. Ravindran's son asked to try out a virtual reality headset, he was no longer playing with it. The child went to his playroom and acted out what he had done in virtual reality after using the headset for 30 minutes.
He said that it was the first time he had seen him play that way. The moment was a light bulb moment.
The son of Mr. Ravindran struggled with social skills. The son was able to translate his virtual reality experience to the real world. A year later, Mr. Ravindran started a company called Floreo, which is developing virtual reality lessons designed to help behavioral therapists, speech therapists, special education teachers and parents who work with children with special needs.
The idea of using virtual reality to help people with mental health issues has been around for a while. The virtual reality lessons developed by Floreo help children build social skills and prepare them for real world experiences such as crossing the street or choosing where to sit in the school cafeteria.
The company delivered 17,000 lessons to customers in the United States last year. The company is believed to have a platform that could go global in the future.
The demand for behavioral and speech therapy as well as other forms of intervention to addressautism is so large. It can take a long time for a child to be diagnosed with the condition. It can cost a lot of time and money for parents to invest in such therapy.
A V.R. headset and an iPad are required for the Floreo system to work. $50 a month is how much the program costs. Floreo has received approval for Medicaid in four states.
The coach watches and interacts with the child through the iPad while the child wears the virtual reality headset.
Going to the grocery store is one of the scenarios covered in the lessons. Many of the lessons involve teaching children with special needs how to read body language.
Some people with the condition argue that behavioral therapy to treat the condition is not a cure and that it is often imposed on children by their non-autistic parents. They say that behavioral therapy can be harmful to children. They argue that society should be more welcoming of the differently-abled and less conditioning them to act like normal people.
The director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network said that society is to blame for the mismatch between the two. People with different types of disabilities should be taught how to interact.
He said that Floreo respected all voices in the community. He said that Floreo had been used in a variety of contexts, including in the home.
The Floreo system is designed to be positive and fun while creating positive reinforcement to help build skills that help acclimate to the real world.
Floreo received a grant from the National Institutes of Health. A randomized control trial is being conducted by the company to test the usefulness of the method in helping people on the spectrum talk to the police.
According to a study published in the Autism Research journal, 98 percent of the children completed their lessons, which was good news for those with sensory sensitivities.
Ms. Gross thought that virtual reality lessons could be used to help people rehearse unfamiliar situations. She said that she would like to see a lesson for medical procedures in the area.
She questioned the focus of the behavioral therapy industry on using emerging technologies to teach social skills
The aim of the second randomized control trial is to show that Floreo's approach is as effective as in-person coaching.
The early successes persuaded Mr. Ravindran to commit to the project.
He said there was a lot of excitement. People gave me a big hug when I showed families what we had developed. They would start to cry when they saw someone working on a high-tech solution for their children.
The virtual reality environment of the Floreo system makes it easier for children to focus on the skills they are learning in the lessons, unlike in the real world where they might be overwhelmed by sensory stimuli.
One of the early pilots for Floreo was hosted by a private school in Denville, N.J., called Celebrate the Children, which caters to children with special needs.
She said that students could control their environment with slight movements of their head if they put on the virtual headset. She said that virtual reality is a great gift for students.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities in Ohio used Floreo to help students with life and social skills, according to a special instruction manager. Holly Winterstein said the tools were more effective than the conversation cards used by therapists. The office initially had two headsets, but quickly bought equipment for all of its staff.
Ms. Winterstein sees infinite possibilities.
Michea Rahman is a speech language pathologist who works with underserved populations in Houston. One of the best social skills tools I have ever worked with is the system. 85 percent of her patients are Medicaid based, she said.
The company has raised over $5 million. LifeForce Capital is a venture capital firm that focuses on health care software and the Autism Impact Fund is an early stage venture capital fund that invests in companies addressing neurological conditions. Mr. Ravindran wouldn't say if the company was making money.
The company has become a mission for Mr. I didn't know if it was a hobby project, or if it was going to be a business that I put a little bit of money behind, then went off to do something else. If I don't build it, no one will."
All Rights Reserved © 2024
