French teacher invents visor to help children concentrate

A school gate conversation between a teacher and parent in south-east France has inspired the invention of a visor to help students concentrate on their work.

Sophie Lebon, who has been a primary school teacher in Var for 20 years, started talking to the father of a five-year-old who was getting easily distracted in class and at home.

The child had been taken to a psychologist and the father explained that one of the methods suggested to help the child concentrate was to raise both hands to the side of their face to block peripheral vision.

“I could see it seemed to help the pupil, but obviously only when they were reading or having something explained to them,” said Ms Lebon.

“It was then that I had the idea of making a sort of visor, which would act in the same way but still allow the child to write or make things.”

‘I’m working, do not disturb’

Ms Lebon made a prototype out of cardboard and sticky tape – and then eight more so other children could also try it, removing the stigma from the child with concentration difficulties.

“I took them to class the next day and most of the children had a go,” she said.

“They saw the use straight away – sometimes to work, but also occasionally just to have some time to themselves. I had written: ‘I’m working, do not disturb’ on the visors.”

She found children using the visors could be divided into three categories: those who had concentration difficulties, those of high potential who liked being able to focus on their work, and those who used the visors to remove themselves from the hubbub of the classroom for a while.

An award-winning design

After working on more durable models based on light recycled plastic, Ms Lebon patented the idea and entered the French inventors fair, the Concours Lépine, in 2024, where she won a silver medal.

She formed a company to develop and market the visor, called a Captibulle, and has so far sold 15,000 of them.

“What was surprising for me was that after the Concours Lépine I started being contacted by adults who wanted to buy them,” she said.

“The children’s ones have bright designs, so I toned those down for the adult models. They are being bought both by students but also by people who work in open-plan offices.”

Adults now account for around 15% of sales.

What the future holds

The Captibulle is classified as an educational tool, so it is up to individual schools and teachers to either buy them for the class or to recommend them to parents.

The visors cost from €21.90 online (captibulle.com) and have washable foam pads for the forehead and temples. They can be worn with earphones to help cut out background noise, and weigh just 40g.

Ms Lebon said a future model might include a small cooling device for hot weather.

They are currently being studied by researchers at Aix-Marseille university to collect data on their effectiveness in improving learning.

Ms Lebon said feedback she has received so far suggests children with attention deficit disorders have shown a marked improvement by wearing the visors.

“It will be interesting to see if this can be proved scientifically,” she said.