Hello! My name is Anika and I have been spending the past three years creating DevMind VR, a virtual reality aid to teach individuals with neuro diversities social skills. My journey started when I was fourteen. A close friend of mine had autism and needed support. But, attending a small school with low-funding meant getting support was difficult. In order to obtain the resources she needed, she moved to a school hours away, terminating the friendships she spent her life cultivating. This led me to realize that other neurodiverse students need assistance and also a hard time finding it.
My first step was learning about current resources and aids available. Through this, I found out how difficult it was to access these resources. The most common resources are in-person because of how effective they are, but these methods are also extremely expensive. On average, in-person intervention methods cost an upwards of $47,000 annually. Technology has been increasing in popularity as an intervention method for assisting neurodiverse individuals with social skills. This includes mobile and desktop games, but the reason these methods aren’t more common is because they aren’t effective. This is due to a factor called immersion—how realistic the aid is. The point of resources for teaching social skills is for neurodiverse individuals to be able to apply the skills they learn in their real life, but if the aid isn’t realistic, it is hard to do this. This led me to another form of technology—virtual reality (VR). Virtual reality is effective and affordable as a VR headset can cost as low as $25 dollars (Google Cardboard).
Not having much experience in VR, I knew I had to seek out help. I found a summer internship program at a local university. One of the labs worked with assistive technology—like VR—to help neurodiverse individuals. After working with the lab for the summer, I was invited to continue my research with them during the academic year.
From there, I came across a major roadblock: coding. My school doesn’t offer any computer science classes and my only experience with coding was the drag and drop commands. For my aid I was using Unity, a professional game development software. I was able to teach myself the basics through using Youtube tutorials, computer science textbooks and science journals.
To this point, I had only told a few people of what I was doing; I didn’t want others knowing if I failed, but I was ready to take the next step. I knew I had to reach a broader audience to make a difference, so I decided to enter the regional science fair for my county. Since this was the first science fair I was entering, I was stuck. Science fairs are also not a common extracurricular amongst students at my school, so I once again turned to the internet. One of my most helpful resources was the “Science Fair” documentary by National Geographic which follows the journey of students dreaming to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). It was my goal to compete at ISEF; I wanted to be able to learn from researchers in my field, but ISEF is one of the most challenging competitions in the world (In 2020, 1,225 students were chosen from 7 million applicants).
Three months after entering my first fair I became an ISEF finalist, but realized there is another side to creating a solution: advocating. This was right when Covid-19 hit, so everything turned virtual. I used this to my advantage and contacted women who are using STEM and business to create impactful solutions. From this I heard of the importance of sharing my story, which led me to seek out opportunities to speak on podcasts, but also listen to the other speakers. I also integrated my cause into some of my pre-existing extracurriculars. For example, as president of my school’s Interact club and having partnerships with the local Rotary International Club, I was given the opportunity to speak at community events and to school districts all across California and advocate for the importance of accessible aids for neurodiverse students.
Through creating DevMind VR, I realized entrepreneurship is activism in disguise. Society comes up with new solutions to global problems often, but some of these solutions never get the popularity they deserve. Young women are often turned down from sharing their ideas. When I was creating DevMind VR I was told by friends that “I was wasting my time because teenagers can’t make a difference.” This isn’t true. Your age, gender, ethnicity or anything does not matter; you can create change. If you have an idea, you need to share it because it can be what solves climate change or promotes women in STEM and so on. Creating these solutions and advocating for them is the new era of activism. It’s our time to innovate and advocate to create a better world!
If you need help in taking the next step and making an impact, please look at the resources below and feel free to reach out!
Resources:
Science Fair: “Science Fair” by National Geographic (on Disney+)
Podcasts (on Spotify): Don’t Quit Do It, From the STEM Up, Impact Renaissance, Girl on Fire
[I have linked the episodes I am on for some of these podcasts!]
Programs: Girls With Impact 10-week Business Academy
Articles and Instagram Pages: Today is Her Story, Impact Renaissance
Academic Journals: Google Scholar, University databases
To get in touch with me, please DM me on Instagram: @anikamistry1
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