AUGMENTED REALITY FOR SOCIAL STORIES

Where imagination meets real social growth - in 40 Hours

ORGANIZATION

Design @ UCI - Designathon

Design @ UCI
- Designathon

ROLE

UX Designer

YEAR

2025

Project description

An AR-powered app designed for parents to help kids with autism practice social skills through interactive social stories.

What is the problem?

Many children with autism struggle to practice and generalize social skills in everyday situations, which can limit their social growth and confidence.

How can we design an Augmented Reality app that helps parents guide children with autism to practice social skills in a fun and supportive way?

Many children with autism struggle to practice and generalize social skills in everyday situations, which can limit their social growth and confidence.

How can we design an Augmented Reality app that helps parents guide children with autism to practice social skills in a fun and supportive way?

Many children with autism struggle to practice

and generalize social skills in everyday situations,

which can limit their social growth and

confidence.

How can we design an Augmented Reality app

that helps parents guide children with autism to

practice social skills in a fun and supportive way?

Process

Research & Planning

Conducted user surveys, interviews, and personas to understand the challenges children with autism face in practicing social skills. Competitive analysis showed few AR apps on the market, highlighting the potential for an AR-powered app that helps parents guide their children through interactive social stories.

Design & Prototyping

Designed an inclusive, easy-to-navigate interface with accessible colors and friendly branding. Created interactive AR characters and camera filters with gesture recognition to make social stories engaging yet calming for children, while keeping the experience simple for parents to use.

Testing & Optimization

Tested AR features on different faces and hand motions to ensure accurate detection and smooth interaction. Conducted usability and A/B testing to refine accessibility, flow, and overall experience for both parents and children.

Solution

To make social learning more approachable for children with autism, our app uses AR characters and interactive stories that make practicing social skills engaging and comfortable. Our friendly mascot gently guides children through each scenario, helping them get accustomed to real-life interactions.

Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.
Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.
Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.
Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.

Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.
Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.
Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.
Onboarding set up
Onboarding questions about their child’s abilities & interests, which tailors content & resources to best support child’s needs.
CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES
Create a social story for your child by typing your own or using AI to generate one based on the skills you want them to work on.
pARENT customization
Parents can personalize the experience to meet their autistic child’s unique needs and find helpful resources in this tab.

let’s create something amazing together!

contact me!

let’s create something
amazing together!

contact me!

let’s create something amazing together!

contact me!

Project description

Project description

What is the problem?

Process

Process

Process

Solution

Solution

Solution

Onboarding set up

CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES

pARENT customization

Onboarding set up

CREATE YOUR OWN STORIES

pARENT customization

let’s create something amazing together!

let’s create something amazing together!

let’s create something amazing together!

let’s create something
amazing together!