A research team from the university's Department of Occupational Therapy and the Haifa Ofer School for Children with Autism found that a computer simulator is more effective in teaching street-crossing than the traditional classroom teaching or practicing it in the natural setting, which is dangerous.
Their research involved six autistic children aged seven to 12. The children spent a month practicing to cross virtual streets, wait for the virtual light at the crosswalk to change and look left and right for virtual cars through a simulator programmed by Yuval Naveh. The children mastered the different levels of the virtual reality system, including the ninth or most difficult level, wherein more vehicles travel at high speed.
The children then successfully applied their virtual skill in a local practice area complete with a street, crosswalk and traffic signals. They learned how to stop on the sidewalk before stepping into the street, to look at the color of the traffic light, to cross only when the light was green and to cross without waiting too long.
Profs. Naomi Josman and Tamar Weiss said autistic children respond well to computer learning.
