Immersive tech is supporting children with learning disabilities and older people in care homes

Many of us learn and work in digital worlds, with immediate access to a wide array of information and resources with a few clicks of a mouse, a few words or even eye movements.

Increasingly, digital technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and other immersive experiences are being used to provide enhanced support to those in need.

One team of committed academics and experts is based at University of Northampton (UON) – the Centre for Active Digital Education (CADE) – and two of their active research projects investigate the applications of immersive tech for young people with special educational needs (SEND) students or elderly care home residents.

With multiple challenges in the SEND sector (financially and logistically) and an ageing population (the number of people aged 85 and over is expected to more than double over the next three decades).

Headsets for Travel and Hope

For some children with developmental or learning disabilities, an ordinary, day-to-day task such as getting on the bus to school can be fraught with challenges that can put a real dent in their confidence.

Immersive reality (IR) technology, however, can be a useful tool for helping them prepare for travel scenarios in a safe, interactive, and game-like setting.

‘Headsets for Hope’ – originally piloted with Billing Brook School, VR Therapies, and Digital Northants – includes problem-solving exercises to help these students develop coping strategies for travel planning, using personal music, reducing strong air freshener smells, and receiving advance notice of delays or diversions.

Headsets for Hope will build on this success by creating a resource bank of IR experiences, training materials, and equipment to empower schools to develop tailored interventions related to travel and the local environment. Resources for schools will follow; watch this space for more.

Care home settings

Care home residents can face complex challenges such as dementia, depression, loneliness, reduced mobility, and limited opportunities for meaningful engagement.

For this study, three different technologies were used to enhance the emotional, mental, physical and social wellbeing of elderly care home residents:

• VR (headsets that showed nature and wildlife, heritage and culture settings such as Buckingham Palace)
• Hydra Smart Cups (intelligent drinking glasses that continuously monitor fluid intake)
• RoboPets (artificially intelligent, robotic animals that offer companionship and comfort).

VR emerged as a key driver in triggering memories and emotion regulation. RoboPets offered comfort and companionship, especially for residents with dementia, while Hydra Smart Cups promoted autonomy with drinking and improved fluid intake.

Recommendations included ensuring multiple staff members are trained to deliver technology-based activities and a library of VR experiences with engaging content alongside bespoke, person-centred options tailored to residents’ histories, interests, and needs.

Associate Professor Dr Helen Caldwell is part of the Centre for Active Digital Education* behind this research and sums up the team’s thoughts: “Good research is all about understanding communities, individuals, systems, the world around us and looking for solutions to the challenges and issues they face. With these recent projects – just two of many – we respond to pressing people and policy problems.

“Augmented, digital, immersive and virtual tools offer so much to people of all needs and our research sheds further light on how children, young people and older people can utilise the best of this technology to get the most out of life and for education and care settings to enhance the increasingly person-centred support they offer their students and residents.”

Find out more about these projects and others from the CADE team.

*Team members and partners are:

Headsets for Hope

Dr Helen Caldwell
Rob Howe, Head of Learning Development
Associate Professor Dr Emma Whewell
Local schools, including Billing Brook

Care home residents’ project

Dr Helen Caldwell
VR Therapies
West Northamptonshire Council