Using virtual reality to teach disability awareness

Abstract

A desktop virtual reality (VR) program was designed and evaluated to teach children about the accessibility and attitudinal barriers encountered by their peers with mobility impairments. Within this software, children sitting in a virtual wheelchair experience obstacles such as stairs, narrow doors, objects too high to reach, and attitudinal barriers such as inappropriate comments. Using a collaborative research methodology, 15 youth with mobility impairments assisted in developing and beta-testing the software. The effectiveness of the program was then evaluated with 60 children in Grades 4-6 using a controlled pretest/posttest design. The results indicated that the program was effective for increasing children's knowledge of accessibility barriers. Attitudes, grade level, familiarity with individuals with a disability, and gender were also investigated.