LessonSpark! - Home learning for children with ASD

The government's closure of schools during the coronavirus lockdown has brought home-schooling into focus, with children now using online classes and apps to continue their education. However, these do not cater for the complex learning requirements of the 1% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), severely disrupting their education. The effects of ASD are wide ranging but include varying social deficits, repetitive behaviours, communication difficulties and an inability to concentrate. Teaching this group is challenging with even small changes to their routine triggering stress and anxiety. Specialist classroom teaching enables them to function as well as possible in society with a chance to enter the workforce.

This project will develop LessonSpark!, an innovative Augmented Reality platform specifically designed for home schooling of children with ASD. We will create immersive environments that can capture and maintain their attention so education can be delivered in a more engaging and effective manner. Careful use of visual cues will encourage positive actions and behaviours, maintain concentration and enable educational benefits to be delivered. It can be used across the curriculum and for social and communication skill development.

The main deliverable from the project will be a home-schooling AR platform for primary-aged children with ASD. This will include applications designed to improve educational attainment, social and communication skills. A beta trial with parents will establish effectiveness, and a marketing plan developed for commercialisation.

A 3 month beta trial so that a large group of users can provide feedback, helping to refine the applications and user interface to a greater degree than originally planned. The purpose of this is to ready the software for launch at once the project is completed. In addition to the trial and software development a marketing plan will be created, including an in-depth analysis of the market and a schedule of activities to support product launch. The business model will be updated to reflect feedback from users gathered during the beta trial. These activities are intended to re-risk the launch of the product and maximise its commercial potential once the project completes.