SUPER HABLA

CLIENT & PROBELM

ReSurge, an international reconstructive surgery non-profit, wanted to provide more comprehensive care for its cleft palate and lip patients in Ecuador.  80% of children who have their cleft repaired require speech therapy but there are only two trained therapists in Ecuador. 

DESIGN PROCESS

Through research and a need-finding trip to Guayaquil, my team honed in on mothers as our end users and defined the need in three parts: the solution has to make speech therapy accessible, effective, and engaging.  We brainstormed a lot of creative solutions to address these needs from voice recognition apps to a therapists-without-borders model.  I prototyped a mobile app on Marvel and conducted iterative user-interface testing.  Our testing led us to design a non-electronic, at-home board game that incorporates cleft-specific sound practice, which children can play even without a parent. 

Final PrOTOTYPE & DISTRIBUTION

The game is currently in-country for a six-month test.  I built a partnership with Smile Train, a global cleft non-profit, who will be taking our product forward for wider regional manufacturing and distribution.  Smile Train plans to translate the game for global use.