Virtual Reality and Communication Disorders

Dr. Stacy Williams, one of my undergraduate research mentors, is a professor at Case Western Reserve University and has several exciting new projects underway. One of the most notable is her use of virtual reality in speech-language therapy for dysfluency, or stuttering, disorders. She leads the Virtual Immersion Center for Simulation Research, also known as VICSR, at Case.

One aspect of therapy that speech-language pathologists use to treat stuttering is role play. The therapist may use props or costumes to act out a scenario, then ask the patient to play along and imagine he or she is actually participating in the situation. Dr. Williams explains that one area where traditional role-play falls short is all of the nuances and background distractions present in everyday interactions. For example, one common scenario is ordering food at a restaurant. Though the therapist and patient may act out the script in a role-play, this cannot reproduce all of the people talking in the background, equipment noise, babies crying, etc. Therefore, with VirTra Systems, she has created a virtual CAVE environment for her patients, the first virtual reality theater for speech therapy in the world.

In the CAVE, the speech therapist controls several factors, allowing the therapist to manipulate the environment and make scenarios more or less challenging for the patient (i.e., increasing the intensity of distractions). The therapist also controls characters in the virtual reality setting, selecting from a pre-recorded library of quotes.

Though this research is new and Dr. Williams has not published her findings yet, VICSR is definitely a promising lab to watch as virtual reality and technology make their way to the forefront of modern therapy.

1. VICSR in TIME Magazine
2. VirTra Systems Press Release
3. Case Western Reserve University Press Release