Citation

Padgett LS, Strickland D, Coles CD. J. Pediatr. Psychol. 2005; 31(1): 65-70.

Affiliation

Marcus Institute, a Division of Kennedy-Krieger Institute at Emory University and Do2Learn.org, Virtual Reality Aids, Inc.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/jpepsy/jsj030

PMID

15829610

Abstract

Objective To assess the effectiveness of a computer-based virtual reality (VR) game in teaching five children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) fire safety skills and to generalize these skills to a real world simulation. Method Children participated in a study by using a multiple baseline, multiple probe design. Before the game, no child could correctly describe what actions to take during a home fire. A computerized game allowed them to learn the recommended safety steps in a virtual world. Skill learning and real-world generalization were tested immediately after the intervention and at 1-week post-test. Results All children reached 100% accuracy on the computer intervention, defined as successfully completing each of the safety steps. At the 1-week follow-up, all the children were able to perform the steps correctly in a real world simulation. Conclusions The results suggest that this method of intervention warrants further study as an educational delivery system for children with FAS.