Name: Ben Beagley

Project Name: It’s Bedtime Bear - A product to improve and monitor sleep, for children within the autistic spectrum.

Project Info: Autism is defined as ‘a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterised by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with people and in using language and abstract concepts.’ However one symptom of Autism is consistently overlooked, sleep problems. Over 80% of sufferers report disrupted sleep or troubles falling asleep, problems that are even more prevalent in children. It has been argued that a large amount of the symptoms associated with autism are due to a lack of REM sleep in childhood. Therefore it is paramount, to the health and well being of a child, that more sleep is achieved. ‘It’s Bedtime Bear’ is an interactive sleep monitor and sound module within a weighted stuffed toy, operated by an easy to use phone application. Furthermore the character is developed through an intriguing storybook designed to enforce the bedtime routine and create a connection to the toy. By incorporating ‘It’s Bedtime Bear’ into a bedtime routine, the parent is able to utilize story time to calm the child down, using a toy specifically designed to deal with hypersensitivity. Whilst falling asleep the parent will play a chosen sound from within the bear, conditioning the child to associate the sound with sleep. Throughout the night the monitor detects the child getting restless and turns back on, helping the child back into deeper sleep. Finally communication between the parent and the child is improved through the sleep monitor app, informing the parent on an easy to read scale how well the child slept.

Bio: Design, as a tool, benefits us more than any other, be it lighting a cigarette to a temporary heart valve, design is present. My name is Ben Beagley and I am a Product Design student from South London, through design I strive to make life easier for users, attempting to make every aspect of life simple. I believe products are about sensory interaction, through which more personal and emotional connections can be made, furthering the development of a great product. It is through this philosophy that I conduct all of my designs, aiming to instill a sense of personality and simplicity throughout, developing products that users will desire.