'App is helping my son face his fear of the dark'

Gabi's son uses an NHS approved game which is designed to tackle childhood anxiety

A mum says her son is learning to cope with anxieties including a fear of the dark with the help of a new NHS app.

Gabi, from Exeter, said her seven-year-old son has complex needs, including autism and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and suffers from anxieties such as sleeping in the dark.

But since he started using an NHS-approved game designed to tackle childhood anxiety there have been improvements in his sleeping habits.

Gabi said: "On a few occasions, he has asked for fewer lights in his bedroom at night which is a huge thing for him."

The app called Lumi Nova combines gaming with cognitive behavioural therapy.

It was commissioned by the Devon Partnership NHS Trust with Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) in 2023 following a successful pilot.

About 1,100 children aged between seven and 11 years old have signed up to use the app in Devon, which does not require a prescription or referral and is free to families in the area.

The game takes children through a series of personalised quests to help them face their fears

The game takes children through a series of personalised quests to help them face their real life fears.

Gabi said her son liked to have several sets of lights on and an audio player playing at night.

She said: "As his fear of sleeping in the dark has progressed, he's asking for more and more lights and the toniebox is having to be put on louder and louder which makes it tricky for the rest of the family trying to sleep at night."

Lumi Nova is being used in around 20 areas across the country and has been accessed by 13,000 children across the UK via schools, community services, local authorities and the NHS.

Data from the Devon Partnership NHS Trust and CFHD shows it is proving beneficial to children with special educational needs (Send).

CFHD said 93% of children with Send demonstrated clinical need when first accessing Lumi Nova. But after using the app, 97% of children with Send showed reliable improvement or stayed the same.

Holly Billington, deputy director for children and family health Devon, said the app was "having a real impact in a really inclusive way"

Holly Billington, deputy director for children and family health Devon, said the app was "having a real impact in a really inclusive way".

"Out of all the children who sign up to Lumi Nova, 27% report having special educational needs or disabilities and 97% of them have seen an impact on their anxiety since using the game," she said.

Manjul Rathee, founder of BFB Labs, the social impact organisation behind Lumi Nova, said a "youth mental health crisis has been brewing for over a decade".

She said: "I think people only really started taking notice of it during the pandemic but half of all mental health disorders are known to start before the age of 14.

"The tragedy is, that almost up to 70% of young people, will not get timely support."