(cont from front page) "Our ambition is to use
the centre to research best practice around
providing support to access the arts, and sharing
these learnings with others in the education and
performing arts sectors."
Karen White, our Head of Fundraising, added: "This
centre has the potential to transform the lives of
young people with autism across the country - both
through having direct contact with the facility,
and indirectly through our sharing of best practice
learning.
"The performing arts has provided many
once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for young
people at Prior's Court - from recording their
own music single at Abbey Road Studios to
taking part in music festivals. With your help,
we can ensure the power of the arts enriches
lives on a daily basis and allow young people
with autism to flourish."
For more information, see the "appeals"
section of our website.
For donation queries, see Prior's Court's
website or contact fundraising@
priorscourt.org.uk.
A dedicated space for continuing our
work in exploring how Virtual Reality
can be used to support our young
people is now in operation.
A room in our school building has been converted
for young people to use solely for time with Virtual
Reality headsets, having previously been used in our
computer suite.
This gives the opportunity for young
people to take part in more
immersive experiences in
a safer space.
Virtual Reality is used
as a complementary
service to existing
therapeutic and
educational
provision at Prior's
Court, and revolves
around a number
of approaches:
l Relaxing sensory
experiences.
l Accessing
experiences our
young people, due
to the complexity of
their autism, may not
be able to enjoy in "reallife"
such as hot air balloon rides or skiing.
l Desensitation to areas such as airports, or public
transport, and, by using a 360 degree camera, real
areas our young people may visit such as work
experience locations or local amenities.
l Phobia reduction such as in medical settings or
with animals.
Our exploration of Virtual Reality also includes
partnering with university researchers to explore
if Virtual Reality is a more effective tool than visual
instruction for developing and maintaining skills,
particularly around vocational learning.
Support appeal to unlock transformational power of the arts
Having the room for exploring using Virtual Reality
/priorscourt @PriorsCourt @priors_court Prior's Court Foundation