Dublin school uses VR to help kids with autism learn life skills – SiliconRepublic.com

by Leigh Mc Gowran
7 seconds ago
A student in Setanta School learning skills through a VR headset. Image: Setanta School/Floreo
Setanta School said the VR platform was ‘very appealing’ for its students, but noted that financial support would be needed to integrate it into the school’s curriculum.
A Dublin school is using virtual reality (VR) to help teach life skills to children with neurodiverse conditions.
Setanta School – a school for children with autism – is working with US tech company Floreo to bring a VR platform to its students.
The platform is designed to teach social, behavioural, communication and life skills for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, anxiety and other neurodiverse conditions.
Floreo’s system requires an iPhone 7 or later model, a VR headset and a tablet device for the parent, teacher or coach to monitor and interact with the child.
The child wears the headset and navigates the VR lesson, which can cover a wide range of situations such as going to the supermarket, the zoo or learning to cross a busy street.
The school’s deputy principle Fiona O’Donovan said the platform is a “very appealing method of learning” for its students.
“The world as we know it can be very overwhelming for our students and many of them find it difficult to cope in the real world,” O’Donovan said. “Unpredictable or unfamiliar environments can be distressing for them, things the rest of us take for granted.
“The VR environment creates engaging, fun and interactive lessons for our students. In turn, this not only makes our world more accessible for our students but also their families.” O’Donovan added.
This is the first school in Ireland to pilot 32 Floreo licenses for the benefit of its students. The US company said it works with game developers to create evidence-based lessons, to help students learn life skills they can translate to real-life.
Although the school is supportive of the technology, O’Donovan noted that “cost is always an issue” for a public school. A three-month subscription, combined with the necessary hardware, cost Setanta €5,000.
“The licences are approximately €50 per licence, and the cost of the VR headsets and iPads/iPhones is a huge investment for us,” O’Donovan said. “We believed so much in giving the software a chance, that we redirected funds from our yard project to facilitate the purchase of the required equipment.”
O’Donovan said the school would need “a donor or financial support” to be able to embed the programme into the school curriculum.
Floreo said it is running several research studies, including a study in collaboration with the Centre for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the US National Institute of Health. The company plans to extend their research to include European groups.
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Related: iPad, education, tech, US, iPhone, VR, Dublin
Leigh Mc Gowran is a journalist with Silicon Republic
editorial@siliconrepublic.com
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