|
 Staff at Prior's Court, located in Berkshire, southern England, hope
the high-tech approach helps students adapt to the real world and
enjoy new experiences such as virtual skiing or deep-sea diving.
People with autism may find unfamiliar situations stressful.
The VR scenarios introduce children to situations like visiting a
shopping mall or getting on an aircraft without leaving the comfort
and safety of their classroom.
"Our young people, they have difficulties with sensory issues so
they can find it overwhelming going to very busy places or
transitioning to a new place," Nuno Guerreiro, computing teacher at
Prior's Court School told Reuters.
"They like what is familiar, they like their routine. So the VR sets
allow them to experience new realities and probably help them
transition when they have to face a new place."
Prior's Court cares for around 95 young people at the severe end of
the autism spectrum, including many who are non-verbal and are
unable to communicate their needs.
[to top of second column] |
The charity is also hoping big data can help. They are trialing a
new data collection system, called Prior Insight, that will gather a
detailed picture of each young person's day, including what they've
eaten, how much exercise they have had and how they are behaving.
"That information looks at things like incidents; seizure activity,
food and drink input, toiletry input, personal care, any activities
they've done, and any sleep data," project leader Elaine Hudgell
said.
"We're hoping to not only increase our knowledge and awareness about
the world of young people with autism at Prior's Court, but we're
also hoping to be able to in time share that with the wider autism
world," Hudgell added.
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
