Case study: using a virtual reality computer game to teach fire safety skills to children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome

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.