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Bringing VR into the classroom

People around the world have the ability to know what to say in a situation with the police. However, students with Autism don’t have the same social skills that we do to know how to react in those encounters. Being confronted by a police officer is something that brings a lot of stress to someone and if you are on the autism spectrum, that can be especially troubling to answer questions or respond to directions. Floreo, an educational virtual reality program for students with autism, offers seven different lessons that students can experience not through a VR headset. Our technology today has reached a breaking point in changing kids with special needs lives for the better. It also provides a feeling of safety for their parents knowing that their child is safe walking down the street. Some of the VR lessons focus on social skills and other focus on more serious situations like police interaction simulations.  Floreo stated that, “it gives students an opportunity to practice and problem-solve in situations that they might encounter in the real world...and goes through skills like being able to show ID when an officer asks, keeping hands in sight, or sitting and waiting patiently when an officer walks back to the squad car” Children with autism are very vulnerable in these interactions. The Washington post has done research on police brutality with those who have a mental illness and reported that: “1 in 5 people killed by the police in 2014 had a mental health disability, and The Washington Post found that 1 in 4 people killed had a mental health disability”. Click here for an example story from the Washington Post  Although some people doubt that VR gets across the feeling of this stressful situation, it prepares the students in a safe and friendly environment. See here for more on the benefits of VR Students with Autism deserve to be treated correctly by the police which is why they do training and now this will provide the students with experience to eliminate the stress on them. All in all, my hope is that this will reduce the amount of violence towards those with special needs and help them feel less anxiety towards these types of encounters.
Do you think New Trier should invest in getting VR for our students with special needs?
How could police train better to prepare for interactions with kids with autism?
Why do you think this is just now being addressed and not sooner?








Comments

  1. Emma LNovember 10, 2019 at 10:56 AM

    This is a really interesting topic! I think virtual reality is a great way to prepare kids with special needs for those stressful encounters. I also think that police officers should have simulated encounters with kids with autism to better understand how to react in those situations.

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