Rationale

Our app is designed for children aged 7-8 who have Post Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The app turns boring exercises for reducing stress and anxiety into interactive games which utilise the camera, microphone, accelerometer and gyroscope. Each of the three worlds has an iteration of the exercises but with different learning outcomes, for example the first breathing game “balloon” teaches them diaphragmatic breathing while the last breathing game “seeds” teaches them to breathe steadily and evenly. The unlocking of worlds and earning points and stickers also give children an incentive to keep playing. Because it’s for children, the app is designed to be fun and colourful with mostly calming blues and greens, the buttons are larger and the language kept minimal and we used diagrams to illustrate any actions needed. Background music increases immersion and relaxation.

We designed the app to work alongside traditional therapy. This reduces stress for the parent by creating an engaging way to teach the children ways to manage their anxiety between sessions. It can also connect with the Therapist and send them the pictures the children have drawn to help the therapist monitor their patient’s mind frame between sessions.