Breaking a habit can be extremely challenging. One such habit common to children who are blind or low vision is eye pressing, poking, or rubbing—a habit that can damage the eye. HabitAware and APH have teamed up to create a device to help children with eye-poking and eye-pressing behavior.
Traditionally, it has been recommended to help your child replace eye pressing with another activity and to praise your child for participating in the alternative behavior. If redirecting doesn’t seem to be successful, you may be interested in a new device. Learn more about the device and read the invitation to join a data-gathering study.
How the Device Works
HabitAware created a device that gently notifies users that they are about to engage in repetitive behavior. The device, the Keen, is a patented smart bracelet the size of a fitness bracelet that helps a person be aware of subconscious behaviors. HabitAware shares that 84% of customers using Keen for hair pulling, skin picking, and nail-biting state that the device helps reduce the behavior.
Keen works with a mobile app to record repetitive movements such as eye pressing or eye poking to make the user aware of the motion with a gentle vibration. This subtle vibration will bring attention to the behavior, allowing the user to make a different choice.
An Invitation
HabitAware and APH are looking for youth ages 5-20 to participate in a study to learn how Keen performs with eye pressing or eye poking behaviors. The data collected is solely the movements children make with their arms, hands, and fingers; no names or identifying information will be collected for your child.
If you are interested in participating in this study, schedule a time to learn about the videotaping process and the data collection.