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 Newcastle University 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.