INToIND: Initiative for Research, Demonstration, and Training in Virtual Rehabilitation

The initative INToIND "Innovative Technologies for Inclusion Disabilities" connects several key issues to develop and demonstrate the use of cost-effecitve interactive Virtual Worlds, to help integrate young disabled subjects in work. INToIND is meant to prrove the technical and clinical viability of advanced synthetic environments as Virtual Reality (VR) in clinical and cognitve psychology. A key goal of the initiative is to explore the medium/long term impact of Virtual Reality in Cognitive Disability. INToIND intends to improve on prior research conducted in Europe and the US that demonstrated the use of Virtual Worlds, similar to those popular in entertainment, education and military training, to enhance the clinical treatment of phobias and panic attac of cognitive disabled persons. Unlike real life treatment, controlled exposure to anxiety provoking situatioins excludes overwhelming stress and security risks; it thus changes the patient's attitude towards certain situations ans opens the way for self-driven rehabilitation.