Encouraging empathy with the Parent Project
Early sketches: setting up a profile, answering quiz questions and exploring resources.
As part of a pitch, we had a week to propose a tool to help parents understand the world through the eyes of a child with learning disabilities (LD). The app we envisioned is an entry point for customized content and part of a broader platform to provide parents access to curated resources, educate them about learning disabilities and attention issues, offer relevant advice and provide a community for support.
Sketch-like prototype Since this was just a quick prototype, we wanted the screens to not look too polished. On left, the conversational approach to setting up a profile. And, since children with LD often have parents with LD, we emphasized that information could be input through typing or speaking. Right, a later screen provides information about the child.
The challenge:
As a mom, I had already thought a lot about how to help my little boy be more empathic. I knew that reading, talking, and playing games were ways to teach empathy. With the popularity of online quizzes—it feels like quiz results are half of my Facebook newsfeed some days—I was intrigued with the idea of creating a game. I thought it could be compelling and educational, without feeling preachy. But making a game out of learning disabilities? I wasn't sure I could pull it off without seeming callous.
Phoneme swapping quiz: The quiz begins with 2 minutes on the clock and a question that displays text normally. After that, with each quiz question, phonemes in the words are swapped (for example, B is replaced with P). Showing a clock clicking down as the questions progressed produced anxiety—not unlike the feelings dyslexic children may face when reading. On the right, as the quiz approaches the end, the questions become nearly impossible to read.
My role:
My partners and I chose to focus on reading-related difficulties. Online research and interviews with parents of children with LD helped us begin to understand the challenges facing these children. After sharing my early paper sketches, my game idea took off! From there, we refined it and identified ways to expand it into a larger platform for sharing. I quickly built an interactive prototype that we could test with parents. (I kept it sketch-like to make it clear that this wasn't how the final app would look).
The result:
My prototype showed the app’s registration process and let parents take a quiz simulating how hard it is for children with reading difficulties to distinguish phonemes. The game turned out to be a great construct for us to replicate the pressure and criticism children with LD face. And, as the testing showed, it was a powerful way for parents to understand the challenges their children faced. Ultimately, we wowed the prospective client, but lost the pitch for other reasons.