Taipei, July 3, 2020 -- Today, PenguinSmart Inc. and Over-Paradigm (OPA) Technology Inc. announced a strategic partnership to launch a holistic, family-centered, early childhood development and intervention service network covering the Greater China region. Silicon Valley-based PenguinSmart is an award-winning teletherapy service and provider of tools using
artificial intelligence to accelerate the detection and intervention of child speech & language delays, while OPA is an established pioneer in Chinese-language e-learning and creator of the 815 Early Childhood Development Program. Their first joint offering will be an integrated online/offline service package coming later in Q3, which will bring together PenguinSmart's expert team of licensed speech language pathologists and online services with OPA's immersive content and tools.
The companies formalized their partnership at a signing ceremony at the Taiwan Tech Arena.
Reflecting on the ultimate goal of this collaboration, OPA President Perry Chyau Pei-Wei shares, “We are excited about building a systematic home therapy program with PenguinSmart to empower parents to engage with their child in a fun and effective way." PenguinSmart's Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Amy Kwok adds, "In this COVID era, the home environment has taken on even greater importance to a child's growth. We are excited to work with OPA to harness the latest advances in EdTech and Teletherapy to build a truly family-centered approach to inspire and safeguard the development of the next generation."
Putting Parents in the Driver's Seat
The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 6 children will have a communication delay during childhood. Moreover, "language development" not only includes comprehension and expression but also less obvious skills such as social-emotional communication, oral muscle coordination, and literacy. All have profound impact on a child's future, so the ability to rapidly identify and intervene is key to minimizing long-term negative effects in school, interpersonal relationships, employment, etc.
PenguinSmart and OPA's collaboration tackles this issue head-on through a comprehensive system of online & offline offerings, which will include intelligent skill tracking, interactive learning courses, immersive content, and technical expertise to further empower parents to stimulate their child's growth and to improve developmental outcomes. The partnership's first offering will combine PenguinSmart's Communication Development Evaluation (CDE) service, online video lessons, live learning group discussions led by certified speech therapists, and an augmented reality (AR)-powered parent-child interactive tool kit. In six weeks, parents of children 2-6 years old will gain valuable skills to help their child realize their full communication potential.
Expansion in Greater China
Taiwan is a natural starting point for this partnership given its strength in high-quality clinicians
and therapists. However, since the need for parenting knowledge and tools is universal, the partners plan to expand their collaboration in the greater China region in the coming months
to empower more families to get involved in their child's communication development.
About PenguinSmart
PenguinSmart is enabling intelligent, individualized rehab therapy for all, starting with online speech and language therapy support for children. Founded by Harvard & MIT alumni, the team combines the latest data sciences with expert insights to empower caregivers to become a key part of their loved ones' rehab journey. PenguinSmart uses this family-centered model of teletherapy to first remotely serve the 1 in 6 families with developmentally delayed children while developing tools to further empower therapists. The company's solutions not only increase the efficacy of rehab therapy, but also allow therapists to oversee 8x as many patients without sacrificing quality of care. PenguinSmart is backed by Alchemist Accelerator and was named one of the Top 10 Disruptive Parenting Companies by Disruptor Daily. Visit www.mypenguinsmart.com for more information.
About Over-Paradigm Technology
Over-Paradigm Technology (OPA) is Taiwan's premier digital content provider in the online learning sector, serving corporates, K-12 educational institutions, and government for the past 20 years. In recent years, OPA launched its own 815 Early Childhood Development Program to develop technology empowered teaching aids for children ages 0-8. OPA's capstone product series is AR Learning Sets that integrate AR technology, self-creating picture books, and self-recording stories to help children develop their expression. "The Albert Duck AR Learning Set" has won the 2017 Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards Merit Prize and the 2017 Learning Technology Gold Award from the Taiwan Association of E-learning.
Contact Information
PenguinSmart: Wendy Liang, info@mypenguinsmart.com
Over-Paradigm Technology: Gordon Cheng, gordon.cheng@mail.o-pa.com.tw