Little Hero, a startup that teaches children

Children are our future world, with various developments in daily life, the education and training of future children also undergo changes.

Special children also follow this rule and they also need education with technology in addition to special education and care.

The little hero startup is a startup in this direction that came out of the heart of the experiences of caring parents, follow Ecomotive’s conversation with the founder of this startup:

please introduce yourself:

I am Maryam Sattar, the co-founder of the little hero game series and the CEO of Datis Pars Data Negara. I graduated from Shiraz University in 1990 with a degree in civil engineering, majoring in environment, and after that I completed an MBA course. For several years, I was teaching in the higher education institutions of the country, and due to my personal interest in education and the development of technology, I entered the field of virtual education.

As the CEO and partner of Datis data logger company, over the past years we have implemented various ideas in the field of virtual education with various tools for various organizations and always seek to use the latest technologies to improve the quality of education and especially online education in We were in the field of health. until Little hero startup We launched

Tell us about the formation of the little hero team:

The idea of ​​the Little Hero game collection was in our minds since 1997, but there was no opportunity to commercialize it and turn it into a product. Until in 2019, the little champion team took the first step in the acceleration call Shiraz hubparticipated and was selected from among 76 participating teams and was supported by Harak Awl and Hub Shiraz.

My husband, Mr. Morteza Sattar, had many years of experience in the field of information technology, and the subject of his master’s thesis was the use of play therapy to help children with special needs. When I discussed this issue with him, the idea of ​​rehabilitation assistant technology came up. Dr. Mozhgan Sattar, a neurologist, and Mrs. Mehsa Saleh Dost, a specialist in digital health applications, also joined us so that we can optimize the product and make it universal.

Where did this idea come from?

When my child reached the age of two, we realized that his speech and behavior were not the same as those of his age, and we went to speech therapy clinics. There, for the first time, we understood autism, rehabilitation and helplessness, and we encountered a wide range of normal children and special children who needed rehabilitation services and came from far and near and had many problems in choosing clinics and educating their children. were facing

In the research we were doing, we got to know about the slogan of the United Nations “Assistive Technologies” and that there have been many advances in the world with the use of appropriate technology and software for special children, especially children with autism, and even the use of robots. helps to improve the performance of these children. We used these software for our child.

We entered into correspondence with Boston and Harvard University and started translating successful and effective foreign software into Farsi and introduced them to other families.

Little by little, we moved towards making Iranian games according to the local culture and the needs of Iranian children so that these little heroes can receive proper services. In the meantime, the support of Hub Shiraz and the pre-acceleration and acceleration courses organized by this group and which we participated in, made the speed and quality of our work much higher.

What challenge is the little hero supposed to solve?

The Little Hero game series, by simulating real environments, reduces the anxiety level of certain children, especially children of the autism spectrum. It allows them to repeat and practice the necessary skills at any time and place, through play and joy, as many times as they need, and it also helps to increase the understanding and speech of these children.

Since many families are concerned about the duration of playing with digital tools, in this program we have considered the ability to control the duration of the game and parents determine the amount of phone usage. Many children on the autism spectrum have sensory problems, these games are designed in terms of color, light, sound and movements to be pleasant for these children, and the ability to control the sound is also considered.

Tell us about your experiences in attracting capital:

After participating in the Shiraz hub acceleration call, in a separate meeting, we were evaluated by the managers of Harak Aol Group and currently this group is considered as one of the partners of the Little Hero group. After that, we participated in the meetings of the Presidential Innovation Fund and various accelerators and investors such as SmartX, Nova, Karen Krad, Kara, Taha, etc. They offered us cooperation and negotiation for partnership and investment, which according to the discretion of the first movement group, we have postponed this issue to another time.

How did you choose and categorize your market?

This collection of games with happy, attractive and interactive games can be used for all children under 8 years old who cover almost 8 million of Iran’s population, but due to the lack of games with interactive and attractive scenarios and customization capabilities, It has been specially optimized for special children (retarded learner, autism spectrum, learning disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, etc.) so that this spectrum of people can benefit from gamification and effective play therapy.

Self-help skills, magic words, the world of the alphabet and the world of numbers are available from the collection of little hero games, and soon more parts will be released, including teaching emotions and social interactions.

What are the challenges of starting a business for children, especially children?

Starting a business and entrepreneurship in turn has many challenges. From the recruitment of expert personnel to those who have morals and needs children understand the specifics and design and code according to the issues raised.

In our society, digital tools are mostly used as entertainment, so it is better if this entertainment tool is used in the right direction and according to the needs of the child. There is still not enough awareness in the society that digital tools are used in the world as rehabilitation assistants and to accelerate the growth and understanding of children.

Currently, the costs of occupational therapy and rehabilitation in our country are not covered by insurance in most cases and these costs are not for one day or one month but continue for years. But families can use health care services with a much lower cost and high efficiency. But this issue needs clarification and explanation for them. We are looking for the goal that every child in every remote city or village can get the minimum services and necessary abilities and not lose the golden opportunity to learn.

Many parents worry about giving their children digital tools. What program is appropriate or inappropriate, how long their child is allowed to use a cell phone or tablet. While all these things can be controlled and managed, the benefits that these tools can have for special children should not be ignored because of news and margins.

Tell me about communication with the treatment staff:

The families of special children are always indebted to the hardworking group of the treatment staff, especially the occupational therapists and speech therapists who give their heart and soul to these children and integrate science and experience to make the path of growth and empowerment of these children smoother. There are several doctors and members of the medical staff in our family, and I have always seen their efforts and efforts closely.

Since the day when God made my destiny to go to rehabilitation clinics or to refer to different medical centers because of my child’s problems and illnesses, I have always tried to have a mutual understanding of the problems of the families and the treatment staff and always exchange opinions and There has been a transfer of experience and knowledge between us, and this made us see vacancies for work and the most important issue in starting the little hero.

What is your development plan?

We are currently in contact with various professors in the fields of psychology, pediatric neurology, psychiatrists, and professors of the rehabilitation faculty of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, and we are following up and establishing effective relationships with the welfare organization and autism associations across the country so that we can sell this product. Introduce them and the covered families.

Our goal is to become a nationwide platform for learning through Play And digital play is therapy for all children, especially children on the autism spectrum. Children who do not have access to the services of the capital city or the services of the provincial centers for any reason should not lose the golden age of their growth and development. In God’s hope, rehabilitation will be provided to all children anytime and anywhere through the series of little hero games. Simulation of real and practical environments in everyday life and Education The basic steps to facilitate the lives of children and their families is the path we have ahead of us.

Tell me a memory about your business path:

One day, when I was tired of a lot of work and many problems that my child had in the art class, I came across the materials sent by the families. A mother who sent me a picture of her child using the right words while eating and wrote to me, “God bless you, my child said his first word!” Tears flowed from my eyes and I promised myself that even if I could change a child’s life, I would not stop fighting.

Seeing the effectiveness of the work removes the fatigue and brings the light of hope back to my heart. A child who learned to wash his hands from the Little Hero game, my son who learned to eat from this program make me happy. A father who doubtedly said that one day my son will understand numbers or a mother who wished for her child to be literate and now they can see these wishes come true are very precious to me.