VR Platform Offers Skills Practice
A virtual reality platform called Floreo is being used to help neurodiverse learners practice executive function and social skills in simulated environments. The platform provides a safe space for experiential learning and generates data for progress monitoring, offering a new model for school partnerships and specialized interventions.
- The platform was co-founded in 2016 by Vijay Ravindran, the current CEO, and Vibha Sazawal. Ravindran was partly inspired by his son, who is on the autism spectrum. - Floreo has raised $18.4 million in funding over five rounds, with the latest being a $10 million Series A round in October 2022, led by Tenfore Holdings. Other investors include the Autism Impact Fund and the Disability Opportunity Fund. - The American Medical Association has issued a Category III CPT code for virtual reality technology to assist with therapy, a move initially proposed by Floreo. This allows healthcare professionals to report their use of VR as a practice expense. - The company is conducting several clinical trials to validate its effectiveness, including a collaboration with the Center for Autism Research at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the National Institutes of Health. A recent peer-reviewed study showed that using Floreo's "Building Social Connections" module led to significant improvements in communication scores on the Autism Impact Measure. - Floreo has partnered with Meta to provide free Meta Quest 2 headsets to participating schools for students aged 13 and older through the 2023/2024 school year. - The platform's content library includes over 175 lessons designed to practice a range of skills, from social and communication cues to behavioral and real-world scenarios like navigating a busy street or interacting with police officers. - A supervising adult, or "Coach," uses an iPad to guide the learner's experience on the VR headset, allowing for real-time monitoring, guidance, and customization of the lesson. - The company is expanding its services through partnerships with organizations like the Center for Social Dynamics to develop advanced VR curricula for ABA teletherapies and to enable group VR therapy sessions.
