The use of virtual reality to support students in heightened states - a case study

“It seemed to act like a re-set button.

After 15 minutes, Theo went from crisis stage 3 to fully regulated.”

Theo*, age13. Year 9

Background

Theo* is aged 13, he has an EHCP care plan and had been diagnosed with ADHD. Theo has a very complex home life which means he often arrives at school in very heightened state, he will often come in like a wrecking ball. He’s very often unable to focus, will throw things around and attempt to destroy things. The school have a range of interventions that they use with Theo to support his needs.

Using VMind acted like a re-set button

When Theo came into school in a crisis stage 3. The school decided to give him the headset to see if it helped in that moment. Surprisingly, he sat down and used the headset for 15 minutes. Following a 15 minute exposure to the VMind software Theo calmed his right down. It seemed to act like a re-set button. Using the headset allowed him to sit in that room and move from crisis stage 3 into a more regulated emotional state. This was the first time he had ever used it.

Ben Roberts from Springwell Academy says:

“Nowadays young people just cannot escape from all the stimulus and this is causing issues. It was really encouraging to see Theo respond so well to this technology. It was really impressive to see him calm down so quickly and enable us to talk to him about his problems."

*Names are changed for confidentiality purposes