Virtual Reality Helps Autistic Children 'Travel' to New Places
2020-02-03
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A school in England for children with autism is finding a new use for virtual reality, or VR headsets.
2Prior's Court is a school in Berkshire, southern England.
3The workers at the school are also using high technology to learn more about individual students.
4People with autism may find it hard to deal with places and situations they have not experienced before.
5VR headsets make the wearer feel like they are in a different place.
6For example, someone wearing a VR headset can have a 360-degree view of a place as they turn around.
7With video, they can even hear the sounds of the place.
8Teachers at Prior's Court are using VR to introduce children to situations like visiting a shopping mall or getting on a plane.
9They can do so in the safety of their classroom.
10In addition to getting used to everyday places in the real world, the children may learn to enjoy new experiences such as skiing or deep-sea diving.
11Nuno Guerreiro is a computing teacher at Prior's Court School. He told Reuters:
12"Our young people, they have difficulties with sensory issues so they can find it overwhelming going to very busy places."
13Guerreiro added that children with autism find it hard to be in a new place.
14"They like what is familiar, they like their routine."
15The school officials hope the VR experiences will help children feel better about changes from their routine.
16Prior's Court cares for around 95 young people with more severe signs of autism.
17Some cannot speak or communicate their needs.
18The charity is also hoping data can help.
19They are trying a new data collection system.
20The system, called Prior Insight, puts together information about each young person's day: what they have eaten, how much sleep and exercise they have had and all their activities.
21Then it compares those facts to how they are behaving and medical events.
22Project leader Elaine Hudgell said the school hopes to share what it learns.
23"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."
24I'm Jill Robbins.
1A school in England for children with autism is finding a new use for virtual reality, or VR headsets. Prior's Court is a school in Berkshire, southern England. The workers at the school are also using high technology to learn more about individual students. 2People with autism may find it hard to deal with places and situations they have not experienced before. VR headsets make the wearer feel like they are in a different place. For example, someone wearing a VR headset can have a 360-degree view of a place as they turn around. With video, they can even hear the sounds of the place. 3Teachers at Prior's Court are using VR to introduce children to situations like visiting a shopping mall or getting on a plane. They can do so in the safety of their classroom. 4In addition to getting used to everyday places in the real world, the children may learn to enjoy new experiences such as skiing or deep-sea diving. 5Nuno Guerreiro is a computing teacher at Prior's Court School. He told Reuters: 6"Our young people, they have difficulties with sensory issues so they can find it overwhelming going to very busy places." 7Guerreiro added that children with autism find it hard to be in a new place. "They like what is familiar, they like their routine." 8The school officials hope the VR experiences will help children feel better about changes from their routine. 9Prior's Court cares for around 95 young people with more severe signs of autism. Some cannot speak or communicate their needs. 10Big data on behavior 11The charity is also hoping data can help. They are trying a new data collection system. The system, called Prior Insight, puts together information about each young person's day: what they have eaten, how much sleep and exercise they have had and all their activities. Then it compares those facts to how they are behaving and medical events. 12Project leader Elaine Hudgell said the school hopes to share what it learns. 13"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." 14I'm Jill Robbins. 15Stuart McDill reported on this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 16________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18autism - n. a condition or disorder that begins in childhood and causes problems in forming relationships and in communicating with other people 19headsets -n. a device worn on the head that delivers sound and in some models video 20overwhelming - adj. used to describe something that is so confusing, difficult, etc., that you feel unable to do it 21familiar -adj. something that has been experienced many times 22routine - n. a regular way of doing things in a particular order 23behavior - the way a person or animal acts or behaves 24awareness - n. knowledge and understanding of what is happening 25What do you think of using virtual reality in this way? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.