To examine how inclusive our schools are after 25 years of educational reform, students with disabilities and their parents were asked to identify current barriers and provide suggestions for removing those barriers. Based on a series of focus group meetings, 15 students with mobility limitations (9–15 years) and 12 parents identified four categories of barriers at their schools: (a) the physical environment (e.g., narrow doorways, ramps); (b) intentional attitudinal barriers (e.g., isolation, bullying); (c) unintentional attitudinal barriers (e.g., lack of knowledge, understanding, or awareness); and (d) physical limitations (e.g., difficulty with manual dexterity). Recommendations for promoting accessibility and full participation are provided and discussed in relation to inclusive education efforts.

This paper presents preliminary data from two clinical trials currently underway using flat screen virtual reality (VR) technology for physical rehabilitation. In the first study, we are comparing a VR-delivered exercise program to a conventional exercise program for the rehabilitation of shoulder joint range-of-motion in patients with chronic frozen shoulder. In the second study, we are comparing two exercise programs, VR and conventional, for balance retraining in subjects post-traumatic brain injury. Effective VR-based rehabilitation that is easily adapted for individuals to use both in inpatient, outpatient and home-based care could be used as a supplement or alternative to conventional therapy. If this new treatment approach is found to be effective, it could provide a way to encourage exercise and treatment compliance, provide safe and motivating therapy and could lead to the ability to provide exercises to clients in distant locations through telehealth applications of VR treatment. VR is a new technology and the possibilities for rehabilitation are only just beginning to be assessed.

Both exercise programmes offered benefits in addition to improved balance. The VR participants had greater improvements on quantitative measures and provided more comments expressing enjoyment and improved confidence. Applications in terms of community reintegration and quality of life are discussed.

Sixty percent to 70% of pedestrian injuries in children under the age of 10 years are the result of the child either improperly crossing intersections or dashing out in the street between intersections. The purpose of this injury prevention research study was to evaluate a desktop virtual reality (VR) program that was designed to educate and train children to safely cross intersections. Specifically, the objectives were to determine whether children can learn pedestrian safety skills while working in a virtual environment and whether pedestrian safety learning in VR transfers to real world behavior. Following focus groups with a number of key experts, a virtual city with eight interactive intersections was developed. Ninety-five children participated in a community trial from two schools (urban and suburban). Approximately half were assigned to a control group who received an unrelated VR program, and half received the pedestrian safety VR intervention. Children were identified by group and grade by colored tags on their backpacks, and actual street crossing behavior of all children was observed 1 week before and 1 week after the interventions. There was a significant change in performance after three trials with the VR intervention. Children learned safe street crossing within the virtual environment. Learning, identified as improved street-crossing behavior, transferred to real world behavior in the suburban school children but not in the urban school. The results are discussed in relation to possibilities for future VR interventions for injury prevention.

No abstract