Published on: Nov 12, 2025
When a person experiences brain damage due to a stroke, head injury, or neurological disorder, assessing their ability to safely return home is a vital step toward regaining independence. Central to that assessment is determining whether they can perform everyday activities—such as cooking, cleaning, or hosting guests—without risk.
A research team at Illinois State University is exploring how virtual reality (VR) can support this process. Led by Dr. Jennine Harvey-Northrop, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders; Dr. Issac Chang, associate professor of technology; and Dr. Gabriela Fonseca Pereira, associate professor of interior design, in collaboration with Dr. Megan Cuellar from Piedmont University, the team aims to evaluate VR as a rehabilitative intervention tool to promote a safe and independent return home after brain injury.
Each interdisciplinary expert contributes a unique perspective—spanning speech-language pathology, technology, and interior design—to create an individualized, immersive experience for participants. By combining cognitive and language rehabilitation with a realistic home environment, the team seeks to improve patients’ ability to remain safely independent in their own homes.
The researchers have developed a virtual home environment and corresponding rehabilitation protocols tailored to everyday activities. Participants, wearing a VR headset, are immersed in a virtual kitchen designed by the team. As they move around a physical space, they experience walking and interacting naturally with kitchen elements such as cabinets, appliances, and even a working clock—creating a realistic and functional setting for therapy.
Within this environment, speech-language pathology professionals guide participants through activities of daily living (ADLs) such as meal preparation and dishwashing. These tasks help assess and strengthen the cognitive and language abilities necessary for safe, independent living. The team also investigates whether challenges faced in virtual ADLs may reflect potential safety risks—like difficulty managing cooking tasks or communicating urgent needs—in the real world. The familiar, task-based setting enhances the potential for patients to transfer learned skills from the virtual environment back into their actual homes.
This spring, the team plans to implement two clinical research protocols using the virtual environment. Both will focus on individuals with aphasia, mild cognitive impairment, traumatic brain injury, dementia, or those experiencing age-related cognitive decline.
The first protocol will target word-finding, memory, and language skills.
The second will focus on problem-solving and executive function, including organization, sequencing, and cognitive flexibility.
Through this innovative approach, the Illinois State research team hopes to demonstrate how VR-based rehabilitation can help individuals with brain injuries rebuild confidence, improve daily functioning, and maintain independence in their homes for as long as possible.
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