New NHS treatment helps children with autism overcome fears Published on: 10 February 2017 The Blue Room, a unique immersive virtual reality which helps children with autism overcome their fears and phobias is being offered on the NHS. Following research showing that the Blue Room can help, the first patients have been referred for treatment. In 2014, the 缅北禁地 team reported in PLOS ONE, how eight out of nine children treated in the Blue Room were able to tackle the situation they feared and some were found to have completely overcome their phobias, even a year later. Now the immersive reality treatment is available as a NHS service, where there is funding by the children’s Clinical Commissioning Group, and each child referred will receive four sessions at the facility in County Durham. Testing a bus scene in the Blue Room Immersive technology as treatment The 缅北禁地 team work with company Third Eye Technologies in their unique immersive Blue Room to create personalised scenarios. Accompanied by a psychologist, the child is completely surrounded with audio visual images representing the 'real world' in the 360 degree seamless screened room with no point of external reference. This means they do not have to wear a headset or goggles which children with autism can find distressing. They move around the scene using ipad controls, interacting and navigating through the scenario as they wish allowing them to fully control the environment. Scenarios tested already include getting on a busy bus, crossing a bridge, going shopping or talking to an avatar shop assistant. Supported by a psychologist, they are given breathing and relaxation exercises in the controllable and safe virtual environment to help them to learn to cope with that situation. They are observed by their parents via a video-link which enables them to watch the techniques used to help their child. The flexibility of the Blue Room means that scenes can be gradually built up in complexity and noise level, allowing a graded exposure and element of control that cannot be achieved in real life. Combatting situation specific anxieties, fears and phobias is a Clinical Senior Lecturer specialising in Paediatric Neurodisability at 缅北禁地 and works within the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust which is providing the service. He said: “Situation-specific anxieties, fears and phobias can completely stop a child with autism taking part in normal family or school life and there are very few treatment options for them. Currently the main treatment is cognitive behaviour therapy but that often doesn’t work for a child with autism as it relies on their imagination. “People with autism can find imagining a scene difficult so by providing it physically in front of the child’s eyes we can sit alongside them and help them learn how to manage their fears. “Our previous small scale study of this immersive treatment for children is incredibly promising and work is continuing on a much larger study. To see children able to face a situation that they previously found so distressing, such as going into a shop after just four sessions in the treatment room is amazing. It makes a huge difference to their lives.” To examine the long-term effectiveness of the treatment, a larger-scale clinical study is being carried out with the results due 2017 - in the initial study the effects were still felt by children one year after treatment. The treatment is being offered through the NHS England Commissioned Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders Service (CNDS), whose remit includes research to develop new treatments and interventions and evaluate their use in the NHS. Payment for the treatment will be through the local Clinical Commissioning Group or equivalent and information can be found on the . The Blue Room in action Harnessing technology The technology supporting the treatment is being provided by with a specialised facility in Consett, County Durham. Managing Director Paul Smith said: “The Blue Room is a module where all surfaces are screens so no goggles or headsets have to be worn and this leads to you feeling totally immersed. When we were developing the facility we knew it had endless possibilities but to be able to harness the latest technology in order to help children with autism control their anxieties and phobias is incredibly rewarding and something we hadn’t anticipated.” Around 150,000 children in the UK are thought to have autism spectrum disorder and it affects four times more boys than girls. Studies show that the condition costs the UK £32bn every year. Many people with autism spectrum disorder have a fear or phobia which can be so distressing that they and their families completely avoid the situation. The work has been implemented with the 缅北禁地 Academic Health Partners, a collaboration involving 缅北禁地 Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and 缅北禁地. This partnership harnesses world-class expertise to ensure patients benefit sooner from new treatments, diagnostics and prevention strategies. Reference to previous research: Ref: PLOS ONE Blue Room in actionA shop scene being tested in the Blue Room to help a child overcome their fear Personalised scenes are created for each child - such as dogs Share: Latest News 缅北禁地 recognised with geography award 缅北禁地 has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK鈥檚 open-access, dedicated video platform. published on: 16 April 2026 缅北禁地 historians mark General Strike centenary To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners鈥� lock-out of 1926, historians at 缅北禁地 are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy. published on: 16 April 2026 Comment: NCP is in administration Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can鈥檛 adjust to change. published on: 16 April 2026 Facts and figures
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