We are excited about sharing our VR kits with members. (Thank you to the Minnesota Dept of Education, Library Services; and to the IMLS, for the funding for this project!!) Virtual Reality kits are very cool, and we have so many good educational resources for people to share.

And we are enjoying finding all sorts of articles on different ways VR is being used to entertain and educate people, in all sorts of different areas of life.

These kits are fun, of course – learning is best when it connects with people. And that is the main focus of our VR kits: education and learning.

We have looked at all kinds of educational uses for VR, and this week we found an article to share about using VR to reach out with students with severe autism. We are giving a quick excerpt below, and you can click the link at to get the whole article with all their photos.

How VR helps kids with autism
make sense of real world

“Staff at Prior’s Court, located in Berkshire, southern England, hope the high-tech approach helps students adapt to the real world and enjoy new experiences such as virtual skiing or deep-sea diving.

People with autism may find unfamiliar situations stressful.

The VR scenarios introduce children to situations like visiting a shopping mall or getting on an aircraft without leaving the comfort and safety of their classroom.

“Our young people, they have difficulties with sensory issues so they can find it overwhelming going to very busy places or transitioning to a new place,” Nuno Guerreiro, computing teacher at Prior’s Court School told Reuters.

“They like what is familiar, they like their routine. So the VR sets allow them to experience new realities and probably help them transition when they have to face a new place.”

Prior’s Court cares for around 95 young people at the severe end of the autism spectrum, including many who are non-verbal and are unable to communicate their needs. “