You could say that SeeLife began over twenty years ago when Erika and Scott Woodrum were fortunate enough to have been exposed to biofeedback at a young age. Scott was a very fidgety kid in 1st grade (yes, even more than most). He was having difficulty staying calm in class and was getting disciplined nearly everyday for causing disruptions — even though he couldn’t help but not sit still. A couple of years later his sister, Erika, was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. She suffered from chronic headaches because one of her tics caused aggressive head jerks. It was recommended to their parents to try biofeedback to learn to control their overactive brain waves. Although it was exceptionally boring (description to come shortly) they were both successful in their practice because they were driven by self-motivation to overcome stressful obstacles.
As Scott and Erika got older they began to realize how rare it was for each of them to have gone through biofeedback. The rarity of their situation was no surprise to them however, because, well, did we mention how boring it was? They both remember struggling to stay awake 20 minutes into every session. Let us set the table for you — you’re in a dark room, watching your brainwaves (or heart rate) fluctuate on a monitor, and the only noise is a steady beep coming from the computer for 30-45 minutes. As a kid it was painful, however the results were hard to ignore. They often thought about how many other people could have benefited like they did early in life.
Erika went on to study biomedical art and game design at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She quickly realized what had to be done in order for more kids to experience the benefits of biofeedback — it needed to be gamified!
She took it upon herself to design the early concept for her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts thesis project. She collaborated with game designers from Unity, child psychologists, and several professors to design SeeLife. Scott meanwhile was working in sales and marketing and highly motivated to officially get involved and see how they could improve children's lives.
SeeLife quickly gained a lot of momentum once they were accepted into the Bounce Accelerator and officially formed SeeLife Corporation. Today they are working closely with a team of highly experienced experts and mentors including local entrepreneurship support in the Cleveland/Akron area and a certified Biofeedback specialist from Harvard University.
As Scott and Erika got older they began to realize how rare it was for each of them to have gone through biofeedback. The rarity of their situation was no surprise to them however, because, well, did we mention how boring it was? They both remember struggling to stay awake 20 minutes into every session. Let us set the table for you — you’re in a dark room, watching your brainwaves (or heart rate) fluctuate on a monitor, and the only noise is a steady beep coming from the computer for 30-45 minutes. As a kid it was painful, however the results were hard to ignore. They often thought about how many other people could have benefited like they did early in life.
Erika went on to study biomedical art and game design at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She quickly realized what had to be done in order for more kids to experience the benefits of biofeedback — it needed to be gamified!
She took it upon herself to design the early concept for her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts thesis project. She collaborated with game designers from Unity, child psychologists, and several professors to design SeeLife. Scott meanwhile was working in sales and marketing and highly motivated to officially get involved and see how they could improve children's lives.
SeeLife quickly gained a lot of momentum once they were accepted into the Bounce Accelerator and officially formed SeeLife Corporation. Today they are working closely with a team of highly experienced experts and mentors including local entrepreneurship support in the Cleveland/Akron area and a certified Biofeedback specialist from Harvard University.
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Erika Woodrum, CMI
7 years of experience in biomedical art and educational game design. Personal experience using biofeedback therapy. |
