New My World App Takes Pediatric Counseling into the Digital Space

By Amanda Farah Cox

The Ida Institute is pleased to announce the launch of our popular My World tool as an app. The adapted pediatric counseling tool is a free app that can be downloaded to your tablet.

My World was originally designed as a board game that enables children to share their perspectives about their daily lives and experiences, gives them a voice in their appointment, and helps hearing care professionals uncover information about the child’s communication successes and challenges.

The tool allows children to recreate their day and talk about how they communicate in different environments – at home, on the playground, or in the classroom – by populating the spaces with friends, family, and the things they enjoy.

The new app was designed to make the tool globally available in an easy-to-access digital format.

“We’re excited to be able to offer My World in a format that is familiar to children and that is readily accessible to hearing care professionals,” says Ida Institute project manager Bert Meijers. “The app makes it easy for hearing care professionals to use the tool in any clinical environment.”

My World is rooted in the evidence-based methodologies of play therapy and narrative counseling. When children play pretend, they convey situations not only as they remember them, but also how they would like to see them. Through the safe environment of make believe, My World eases a child’s anxiety in an appointment and makes it easier for them to openly express their feelings. The tool can be used to help a child work out a particular problem they are having, or it can be used as an icebreaker in a session with someone who is shy. When a child is at ease, they feel more comfortable trying out new communication and coping strategies.

My World is developed by the Ida Institute in collaboration with audiologists from around the world. Download it for free in the Apple App and Google Play stores.