Granés Foundation and the IAS Intellectual Disability Service have signed a framework agreement to improve the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities of all ages and with support needs, enhance the practical skills of community support professionals, as well as promote inclusive support. Specifically, in 2022, the Granés Foundation Immersive Reality Space at the IAS will become a reality for the therapeutic approach and evaluation of people served by the Service. It will also enable the Study on the effectiveness of Immersive Virtual Reality in the treatment of specific phobias in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, through a Granés Foundation Grant at IDIBGI.
Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) creates interactive computer-generated worlds that replace real-world sensory perceptions with digitally generated ones, producing the sensation of being in new, life-sized environments. IVR allows such tight control over the presented stimuli that therapeutic strategies can be implemented with precision. Most research has demonstrated the effectiveness of IVR as a cognitive rehabilitation tool in people with acquired brain injury or dementia and in many mental illnesses, significantly reducing the use of psychotropic drugs.
