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“To not hear what the teacher
is saying, to not understand your
friends, to not be able to participate
in class or outside activities; I think
it will really give the kids a sense of
empathy for their classmates,” Mr
Lawson said.
Tyler’s mother Philippa Potaka
said the virtual reality training could
be a valuable tool for parents who
have just found out their child has
been diagnosed with hearing loss.
“There’s always the question of
Experiencing a
world of silence ‘what is it going to be like for my
he Shepherd Centre in
Sydney has launched
a Virtual Reality (VR)
experience that immerses users
in a world of silence, enabling
them to feel first-hand what life is
like for a child with hearing loss. isolation and misunderstanding something really quite unique and
with just a moderate level of special,” she said.
T
The Shepherd Centre supports
children with hearing loss of all levels
child?’ You never quite know what
it’s like for them so to put on the
vheadset and actually transport
myself to his body almost … it’s
hearing loss. The development of The Shepherd Centre’s CEO Dr
the VR clip became an educational Jim Hungerford said the clip includes
experience for Tyler’s class as they two scenarios – one in the classroom
learned some of the challenges and one in the playground – where
their classmate experienced on a even just a moderate level of hearing
daily basis. loss can completely impact on what
Tyler’s former teacher Angus
is heard and the information that is
to learn to listen and speak, but the Lawson said the clip allows students missed, leaving the user feeling quite
clinical staff who work there have and anyone who watches it to really anxious and unaware of what is going
often struggled to articulate just how put themselves in the shoes of a child on around them.
isolating life with even just moderate with hearing loss.
www.shepherdcentre.org.au
hearing loss can be.
For over a year and a half, the
organisation worked with Surry
Hills based agency Paper Moose to
develop a confronting VR experience
that allows the user to experience
hearing loss for themselves.
Senior Communications Manager
at The Shepherd Centre, Jo Wallace
Shepherd Centre
graduate Tyler
Potaka and
CEO Dr Jim
Hungerford
with the VR
experience.
Above: Tyler
Potaka and his
mother Philippa.
worked with one of The Shepherd
Centre’s graduates Tyler Potaka, his
teacher and their class to recreate a
primary school setting where a child
with hearing loss experiences social
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