{"id":9618,"date":"2025-04-09T12:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T11:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/?p=9618"},"modified":"2025-04-09T14:32:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T13:32:53","slug":"darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected","title":{"rendered":"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Split<\/p>\n

Above: (left) Darcy and her brother with ‘DarcyBot’; (right) Darcy having chemotherapy treatment in hospital, interacting with her lessons remotely via \u2018DarcyBot\u2019 who was placed on her desk in her classroom. The staff of the hospital school also facilitated their sessions around her school timetable and reinforced her learning.<\/em><\/p>\n

Darcy was four when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and hadn\u2019t attended school for months when her Mum contacted us. Darcy is a twin, and it was clear from her brother\u2019s progress at school that she was falling behind in her learning and missing out on developing friendships.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We were able to lend her one of our friendly little AV1 BubbleBuster Project<\/a> robots which she called \u2018DarcyBot\u2019. The robot sat in Darcy\u2019s place at school, becoming her eyes, ears and voice in the classroom. By controlling it remotely through a tablet computer, she was able to talk, learn and interact alongside her friends – and her brother in the same class – while having the chemotherapy she needed in hospital.<\/p>\n

With Darcy missing nearly all her reception year and going into Year 1, DarcyBot became invaluable, helping Darcy to catch up with many hours of lost learning. Skip forward a year, and she\u2019s now having maintenance chemotherapy and attending school mostly full time. She\u2019s working at the expected level in Maths and has nearly caught up with her reading and writing.<\/p>\n

Darcy\u2019s Mum believes having \u2018DarcyBot\u2019 really did help with ensuring she didn’t fall too far behind. \u201cSocially this was something that couldn’t have been arranged by any other means. The SpecialEffect BubbleBusters team were amazing in helping set up DarcyBot and keeping in touch.\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Since the BubbleBusters Project started in 2020 we\u2019ve connected over 100 families with schools across the UK, and we look forward to our little loan robots, made by No Isolation<\/a>, being reused again and again to tackle isolation and help many more pupils in the future.<\/p>\n

Find out more about our BubbleBusters<\/a> project here, and become a regular giver to help us support more children with technology here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Above: (left) Darcy and her brother with ‘DarcyBot’; (right) Darcy having chemotherapy treatment in hospital, interacting with her lessons remotely via \u2018DarcyBot\u2019 who was placed on her desk in her classroom. The staff of the hospital school also facilitated their sessions around her school timetable and reinforced her learning. Darcy was four when she was… View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-study"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDarcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected - SpecialEffect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected - SpecialEffect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Above: (left) Darcy and her brother with ‘DarcyBot’; (right) Darcy having chemotherapy treatment in hospital, interacting with her lessons remotely via \u2018DarcyBot\u2019 who was placed on her desk in her classroom. The staff of the hospital school also facilitated their sessions around her school timetable and reinforced her learning. Darcy was four when she was... View Article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SpecialEffect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SpecialEffectCharity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-09T11:48:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-09T13:32:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"362\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"213\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Saville\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@specialeffect\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@specialeffect\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Saville\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected\",\"name\":\"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected - SpecialEffect\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-09T11:48:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-09T13:32:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b7dd8712c0d480c82cb3cae2e0b5f79d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg\",\"width\":362,\"height\":213,\"caption\":\"Split image: Girl and boy sitting together with robot, and girl in hospital looking at a screen and counting on her fingers\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/\",\"name\":\"SpecialEffect\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b7dd8712c0d480c82cb3cae2e0b5f79d\",\"name\":\"Mark Saville\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bab0786552dd506dcb39545206ce726f97e78cf79c7eb47bfbfa72da4f15fd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bab0786552dd506dcb39545206ce726f97e78cf79c7eb47bfbfa72da4f15fd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Saville\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected - SpecialEffect","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected - SpecialEffect","og_description":"Above: (left) Darcy and her brother with ‘DarcyBot’; (right) Darcy having chemotherapy treatment in hospital, interacting with her lessons remotely via \u2018DarcyBot\u2019 who was placed on her desk in her classroom. The staff of the hospital school also facilitated their sessions around her school timetable and reinforced her learning. Darcy was four when she was... View Article","og_url":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected","og_site_name":"SpecialEffect","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SpecialEffectCharity","article_published_time":"2025-04-09T11:48:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-09T13:32:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":362,"height":213,"url":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mark Saville","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@specialeffect","twitter_site":"@specialeffect","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Saville","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected","url":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected","name":"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected - SpecialEffect","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-09T11:48:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-09T13:32:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b7dd8712c0d480c82cb3cae2e0b5f79d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Darcy_Thumb.jpg","width":362,"height":213,"caption":"Split image: Girl and boy sitting together with robot, and girl in hospital looking at a screen and counting on her fingers"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/news\/darcys-robot-double-keeps-her-connected#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Darcy\u2019s robot double keeps her connected"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/","name":"SpecialEffect","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b7dd8712c0d480c82cb3cae2e0b5f79d","name":"Mark Saville","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bab0786552dd506dcb39545206ce726f97e78cf79c7eb47bfbfa72da4f15fd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bab0786552dd506dcb39545206ce726f97e78cf79c7eb47bfbfa72da4f15fd0c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Saville"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9618"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9626,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9618\/revisions\/9626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialeffect.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}