Gareth Walkom
Founder
withVR
Bio:
Gareth Walkom has stuttered since the age of six, which has given him many positives and negatives throughout his life, where he has found it difficult to use his voice, expand his comfort zone, and say exactly what he wants to say.
Since 2015, he has researched how virtual reality can be used to benefit people just like him. His research focused on developing an innovative virtual reality application to observe stuttering behaviors that experimented with exposure therapy, eye behaviors, and other biometric sensors.
Gareth’s work has been featured in worldwide press such as BBC News, Google Cloud, and more.
He regularly talks about virtual reality and stuttering as a keynote and invited speaker at international and national conferences.
He has published and reviewed research on the topic and advises researchers who advance virtual reality for speech therapy today.
Gareth is now the Founder of withVR, providing customizable virtual reality speaking situations to support speech therapists and researchers.
withVR is currently collaborating with leading experts from 100+ clinics, labs, and hospitals from 20+ different countries worldwide.
Today, Gareth uses his voice to empower others to use theirs.
Talk Title:
How speech therapy is benefitting from VR
Talk Description :
People with speech disabilities and differences are often discriminated against because of the way they speak.
The unknown nature of a real-life speaking situation can lead to avoidance of speaking situations and a decreased quality of life.
Gareth Walkom, who stutters, has created withVR – a safe space to speak.
withVR provides customizable virtual reality speaking situations for speech therapists and researchers.
Currently collaborating with leading experts from 100+ clinics, labs, and hospitals from 20+ countries worldwide, withVR strives to ensure that anyone can use their voice whenever they like, no matter their difference.
In this talk, Gareth will highlight the importance of enabling people with speech disabilities and differences to use their voices and the research behind withVR.
After this talk, you will know how to empower individuals to say what they want to say, no matter their difference.
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