Dad uses virtual reality to help his daughter who suffers from Williams Syndrome

Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic disease that is characterised by mild to moderate intellectual disability or learning problems, unique personality characteristics, distinctive facial features, and heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) problems.

Craig’s daughter, Imogen, was born with Williams Syndrome, compromising her learning skills and concentration. Craig realised that using a virtual reality (VR) headset was a big help for his daughter.

“I noticed how well she adapted to it... So I knew she’d like to see more.”, Craig said.

Craig did not stop there. He started working on his own VR experience and created a set of videos with different themes, each lasting around four to six minutes. He created videos on diving under water, space and stars observation and visiting animals. As loud noises are stress factors for Imogen all the videos are complemented with calm music, animal sounds and more. This experience helped Imogen to relax and also to stimulate her brain activity.

“The scene was magical to witness,” Craig said. “It brought a tear to my eye because she was showing signs of improved development and progression in learning. She started doing things we didn’t think she could do.”, Craig mentioned.

Craig wanted to do more, so he decided to tried his experience with other children at his daughter’s school and found similar reactions. It proven that it helps aid the child development and progression in learning, but also helps them feel relaxed.

“Each child loved the project again,” he said.

Craig is now trying to take the project further. He created I.M.M.E (Imagine Making Memories Everywhere) and launched crowdfunding campaigns to continue developing his project.

Adapted from: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/education-45983010/dad-creates-vr-world-to-h...

More info: https://immemedia.wixsite.com/immemedia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1RaT6AQDGo