Schweitzer was looking for a way for kids to practice focusing in a way that is accessible and doesn’t require going to a clinic. VR became the perfect solution because it immerses kids in realistic situations.
HOW IT WORKS
Researchers will send kids home with a VR headset and phone programmed to put them through 25-minute daily training sessions in a virtual classroom. The idea is if kids with ADHD are exposed to distractions, they will become accustomed to them, and therefore less likely to lose focus when they meet distractions in a real classroom, Schweitzer said.
During the training, kids will feel as though they are sitting in a classroom chair looking at a whiteboard. They will be asked to perform attention-demanding tasks, such as math problems, which will appear on the white board.
But the classroom they are in will feature distractions like a loud bus driving by the window, kids talking and a teacher walking by with loud, clicking shoes. The kids in the classroom are always moving, even when they aren’t performing a specific distracting action, which makes the experience feel more like a real classroom.