While developers continue to seek out killer commercial apps for virtual realty (VR) headsets like the new Apple Vision Pro, some kids with autism are already receiving help with developmental skills using such devices.
BlueSprig, a company that offers applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy, has seen improved response and greater efficiency in therapy sessions using VR headsets with VR scenarios from Floreo. Content depicted in the headsets helps the students deal with bullies or learn how to interact socially at a cafeteria lunchroom. Learning to cross a busy street safely is another skill being taught through VR, which helps practice the skill without the need to repeatedly practice the skills on streets outside of classroom. The savings in time is considered a godsend for practitioners.
Floreo started piloting the application more than a year ago and has found success with students in dozens of schools with about 100 health care providers. The process has been explained in a clinical paper accepted for publication in Behavior Analysis in Practice, according to Dr. Ashley Fuhrman, vice president of specialty clinics at BlueSprig who spoke with Fierce Electronics.
Vijay Ravindran, CEO of Floreo, founded the VR startup eight years ago after finding his son on the autism spectrum responded well to using a VR headset, he told Fierce. “Our inspiration was my son’s first encounter with VR and he’s the inspiration for everything built since,” he said.
The company does not make the VR hardware but its software and content supports the Meta Quest headset line and the PICO VR headset already deployed in schools. “We’re excited about the Apple Vision Pro,” he said, while noting that its relatively higher cost at $3,500 could be made more affordable to families and providers once it receives a next-level designation from the US FDA.
Floreo received FDA Breakthrough Device designation in late 2023 and was accepted into the FDA’s Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program. The goal with TAP is to guide the Floreo system to success by facilitating discussions between companies and insurers to evaluate reimbursement to families and clinics that purchase a system, according to a Floreo press release.
(Aside from success at Blue Sprig and Floreo, reports surfaced in April that the Vision Pro was not selling as well as Apple had hoped, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. As a result Apple slowed production of its Vision Pro headset to 400,000 to 450,000 units, rather than the minimum 700,000 earlier predicted at the time of the US launch in February, Kuo claimed. Some critics have argued its usefulness for widespread commercial applications has not been shown thus far, but Floreo’s success with neurodiverse people suggests a promising niche exists.)
Ravindran believes Floreo is a trailblazer in autism therapy and the only VR tool to commercialize in the autism space. “It’s practical and in use and we have proof points,” he said.
Fuhrman noted that students with autism show a variety of behaviors that meant some might not even want to wear the headset strapped on their heads. Therapists broadly note that some people on the spectrum don’t want to be touched or have demonstrated profound aggression. “We had a protocol for them to get used to it and it was slowly introduced,” she said. Rather than requiring a student to wear the headset, they devised a way for a student to lean into the headset to see what was shown without fitting a strap around the head.
The piloting process was gradual. At first clinicians were not sure what to be looking for and how students would respond. Now, however, “we have anecdotes of how they love it and couldn’t wait to do VR sessions,” said Amber Valentino, formerly chief clinical officer at BlueSprig who now has founded a consultancy, ALV Consulting.
In one example, Ravindran said Floreo worked with a psychologist on a scenario for developing skills to deal with bullying. Part of it imparts insights on what is playful teasing or harmful bullying. “We’re helping them understand when to get help from adults or remove themselves from the situation,” he said.