Virtual Reality for Children with Disabilities in Las Rozas

A fervent motorcycle enthusiast, Álvaro can only ride them through virtual reality glasses. With other children, however, their use is more complicated, as their adaptation depends on the degree of their disability. 'At first it cost them a bit more, but now they love it, they can be from ten minutes to hours,' says Carla Plaza, the activity coordinator. She has been at the sports center for over an hour and there are few occasions when she takes the glasses off. The mayor recounts that one of the young people, 'when he put on the glasses and entered that virtual world, gained stability'. However, there are some for whom it is more difficult. Virtual recreation Sundays On one of these sessions, Bautista hits the floor with one of the controllers that allow him to control his reality. Every Sunday, from five to eight in the afternoon, Alvarete can feel that he is cruising the asphalt on two wheels in an activity organized by the AVA Foundation, created by his father. During the afternoon, there are different worlds they can access through virtual reality, bringing them experiences that would otherwise be out of reach. David, for example, 'before he would stay still when we put them on, now he wants to grab things', his father assures. When he puts on the glasses 'he has the sensation that he is riding a motorcycle and he starts to laugh'. When he does, he does not hesitate to put them back on or ask one of the multiple monitors in the room to help him. From AVA they ensure that the initiative is closely related to the rest of the families. David, another participant in the session, walks concentrated back and forth along the same line, up and down. Now, they also access virtual worlds thanks to devices financed by Las Rozas Innova, an innovation space through technology from the Ayuntamiento de Las Rozas. During the afternoon, the young people stay in the company of monitors and the parents have three free hours, facilitating the reconciliation of personal life with the upbringing of their children. Other possibilities, such as crossing a crosswalk, seek their learning and have a didactic objective, beyond their enjoyment, and are designed so that in the future they can do them relatively independently. 'Through the glasses they get to know other realities or can develop their creativity,' affirms José de la Uz, mayor of Las Rozas. From a port, he fishes for the submerged fish in the sea. His father says that 'it was difficult for him, but once he got used to it, he did not take them off'. For his son, that experience is being a pilot. Related news standard If Playing football without a limb: 'The best thing that can happen to an amputee is to forget that he is one' NATALIA LOIZAGA The participants in the project rotate every Sunday depending on how many sign up for this paid activity on lists that are renewed every week. 'The sea,' he replies as he walks through the seabed into which he has submerged. His use of this technology has evolved. He, those who know him say, 'is a very intense child' and he calms down with the glasses, just by looking at the sky or his hands in front of a blank canvas. Even so, he recognizes an improvement in its use. The mayor of the municipality agrees that 'there is a very important role that is the respite, which ties in with the policy of Las Rozas'. He affirms that the investment 'has to translate into an improvement in the quality of life of the neighbors', and that its results will be analyzed when the 33 sessions that are planned are completed. In addition to contributing to improving the motor coordination of the patients, they are a gateway to a more accessible world. Together with ten other children with intellectual disabilities between six and eighteen years old, he spends three hours in a room ceded by the Polideportivo Dehesa de Navalcarbón doing different activities. Fruit of this commitment to the development and quality of life of the roceños, the council assures that it is working with relevant foundations for disability in the country for future projects. In the informative presentation of the project, the organizers ensure that the young people lined up to try on the glasses after seeing one of their companions experience virtual reality. The objective, declares Villanueva, is 'to be able to make them live experiences that otherwise they would not be able to'. 'My son does not speak, does not understand, does not know how to go to the bathroom alone,' says his father, Álvaro Villanueva. He has two rare diseases that have led to a severe disability and that prevent him from doing many tasks that others would call daily. They dance, play with balls and have a snack together with monitors and volunteers. 'There are some who enter better and others worse. For a few hours, they can become artists or fish from a dock, two of their favorite practices. While he does it, he smiles. 'What do you see, David?', one of the monitors asks him. For Alvarete it has not been easy to get used to it.