Imagine being a child so shy you can\u2019t approach another on the playground, or being so terrified that someone might ask you a question.<\/p>\n
The idea that some children live with such anxiety motivated Dr. Deborah Beidel, director of UCF’s doctoral program in clinical psychology, as she worked with families who want their children to have a normal, happy childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocially anxious children have a unique struggle,\u201d she said. \u201cThey can\u2019t engage other children and are often afraid of anyone who might try to even talk to them. It affects every aspect of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping children with social anxiety of this magnitude is the focus of a National Institute of Mental Health study Beidel and her team are working on using virtual reality combined with traditional therapies to coach shy kids how to master social situations.<\/p>\n
Using a program on an iPad, shy children can walk through certain social situations in a virtual world and interact with artificially intelligent avatars. Through these interactions, they learn how to better socialize with children and adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this kind of therapy, it can be difficult to recreate real-life situations where these kids can interact with their more social peers,\u201d said Beidel. The virtual environment program replaces the traditional meet-ups with other kids \u2013 at least for a while \u2013 and helps therapists target specific elements during sessions.<\/p>\n
While live-interactions with other kids aren\u2019t completely factored out of the therapy, it does help families use the program for \u201dhomework\u201d and provides an opportunity for practice before attempting real-life encounters.<\/p>\n
The kids in the study receive an iPad to use as part of their therapy. The program, which takes kids to a fictional elementary, moves the users along a school campus \u2013 all the while running into adults and other children. After they have learned a social skill in a traditional group therapy session, they practice the skills in the virtual school.<\/p>\n
The program gives shy children options to “teach” them proper interactions with others in a safe environment. They work through the mechanics of social skills \u2013 things as simple as saying \u201cgood morning\u201d to effectively telling a bully to leave them alone.<\/p>\n
Currently, Beidel and her team are seeking families in the Orlando area whose children suffer from severe anxiety disorder and who are interested in this no-cost treatment program. They also are looking for boys and girls to be peer mentors \u2013 kids who can help their shy counterparts in live interactions. The researchers usually bring the kids together in social situations, events held at playgrounds, parks, bowling or miniature golf, for example.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are always looking for middle school-age boys and girls,\u201d said Karen Kildron, the program\u2019s coordinator, who works closely with Beidel.<\/p>\n
One such peer mentor is Corbin Laslo, a 10-year-old from Winter Park who has been helping other boys his age who are extremely shy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel pretty good when I do it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd everyone is super nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among Corbin\u2019s tasks: help his shy \u201dpartner\u201d talk more and engage in play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just try to get them to talk to me, and after a little while, they usually do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Therapists guide the peer mentors, giving them tasks such as making sure their shy partners ask \u201cW\u201d questions \u2013 who, what, when, where and why \u2013 for example.<\/p>\n
Corbin\u2019s mother, Leslie Laslo, said participating in these activities is helpful for her son, too, because he\u2019s made new friends and learned how to help others.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s enjoyed it very much,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really nice way for kids to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If you would like more information on how to have your child participate in the study or if your child is interested in being a peer mentor, call Karen Kildron at <\/em>407-823-4254. Peer mentors receive volunteer hours for participating.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imagine being a child so shy you can\u2019t approach another on the playground, or being so terrified that someone might ask you a question. The idea that some children live with such anxiety motivated Dr. Deborah Beidel, director of UCF’s doctoral program in clinical psychology, as she worked with families who want their children to have a normal, happy childhood.…","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":75086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[6,23],"tags":[14924,15761],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-75083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-research","tag-deborah-beidel","tag-pegasus-briefs"],"yoast_head":"\n