challenge
New, stressful environments can trigger meltdowns for children with autism. When this happens, communication becomes nearly impossible, making mitigating these situations that much harder.
solution & features
A plush Mood Buddy with push-button lights to quickly communicate content, sadness, anxiety, and overstimulation. A customizable social story app to practice using the Mood Buddy and form routines for stressful situations.
process
- Connect with parents and collect insights via Reddit & Facebook
- Interview communication experts and pediatricians to understand accepted field practices
- Brainstorm communication solutions and synthesize prototypes
- Develop social story app wireframe from paper to interactive
- Test the Mood Buddy and app in therapeutic day schools and special needs community centers
contributions
- Led the team for over a year, organizing weekly meetings and keeping progress on track
- Generated, distributed, and analyzed user research surveys online
- Developed circuitry and produced the final plush prototype
- Organized & conducted user testing.
skills developed
User research & testing with vulnerable populations, project management, prototyping, basic electronics, UX design.