Background and Challenge

With over 3 billion people - more than one in three globally - affected by neurological conditions (1)(WHO, 2024), and healthcare workforce shortages limiting access to specialists, digital therapeutic tools offer promising solutions. Virtual reality, backed by over 40 years of academic research and now significantly more affordable, provides immersive experiences that enhance engagement and therapeutic outcomes in ways traditional methods cannot match. However, many technology-driven interventions fail because they are developed in isolation from the professionals who will use them and the patients who need them. How can we create digital health tools that genuinely meet clinical and educational needs?

Our Methodological Approach

This presentation introduces a community-driven co-creation methodology developed through building Theraply VR, a virtual reality platform supporting children with special educational needs (SEN) in areas such as eye-hand coordination, auditory processing, social skills, and emotional regulation. Rather than developing technology first and seeking users later, our approach inverts this process:

First, we established a professional community through our VR Therapist Course. During the initial R&D phase, approximately 100 trained professionals became our co-creation partners, providing continuous feedback on therapeutic needs, session design, and data collection. This community has since grown to over 400 trained therapists - demonstrating that co-creation builds not just better products, but lasting professional networks.

Second, we conducted a 12-month R&D project developing six therapeutic sessions across multiple developmental areas - eye-hand coordination, auditory attention, auditory memory, and mindfulness/relaxation. Each element was iteratively refined based on professional input.

Third, we validated outcomes through structured research conducted under academic supervision from SWPS University in Warsaw. In a 5-month pilot with N=100 children with special educational needs, we used a pre/post within-participant design across six VR sessions. Compared to baseline, we observed: relaxation improvements in 83% of participants; reaction time gains of 6-64% across all students in eye-hand coordination tasks; auditory memory improvements in 80% of participants; and auditory attention improvements of 3-60%, particularly in tasks with distractors. This applied pilot indicates feasibility and signal strength, with results exceeding initial research assumptions.

Real-World Impact

These measurable improvements translate directly into children's daily functioning. Better reaction times and eye-hand coordination support the ability to learn new skills and perform daily tasks more effectively. Mindfulness and relaxation sessions help children with ADHD or sensory sensitivities learn to self-regulate and cope with overstimulation. Therapists reported that 77% of students showed increased motivation to participate in sessions, 69% demonstrated better emotion management, and parents observed that skills learned in VR transferred to real-life situations - children became more focused, engaged, and confident at school.

Currently, our solution supports pedagogical therapy in educational settings, helping students develop foundational skills. It is used alongside approaches such as Tomatis auditory therapy and supports development across social training, motor coordination, and emotional regulation. While not yet a clinical therapeutic device, this educational foundation positions us for expansion into health technology applications.

From Education to Clinical Practice

Our methodology has enabled expansion from educational settings (183+ active therapists, 484+ children, 4098+ sessions conducted) toward clinical applications. As a small company, we cannot address every neurodevelopmental challenge simultaneously. After learning from our community about pressing market needs, we identified ADHD support as a critical area where our approach could make significant impact - ADHD is among the most common conditions within our SEN user base. We are now collaborating with the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw on an ADHD diagnosis and therapy research project involving 260 children, with findings expected by early 2026.

Key Takeaways for Attendees

Participants will learn:

(1) How to build and engage professional communities as co-creation partners;

(2) A practical development cycle: from gathering professional input, through iterative design and testing, to validating outcomes - balancing startup agility with therapeutic rigor;

(3) How to design research-ready development from day one: structuring pilots for academic validation and building partnerships with research institutions;

(4) Our journey from educational implementation to clinical ADHD research, and the factors that enabled this transition.

This presentation offers a replicable methodology for anyone developing digital therapeutic solutions who believes that the best tools are built with, not for, the people who use them.

References:
(1) WHO (2024) „Over 1 in 3 people affected by neurological conditions, the leading cause of illness and disability worldwide”. Accessed from:

https://www.who.int/news/item/14-03-2024-over-1-in-3-people-affected-by-neurological-conditions--the-leading-cause-of-illness-and-disability-worldwide