VR for Autism

http://www.do2learn.com/aboutus/research/briefreport.htm

Why Consider VR for Autism?
Several aspects of autism suggest that virtual reality might be helpful with this population:

Sensory Problems. Many children with autism have difficulty with multiple sources of sensory input (Grandin & Acariano, 1996). Stimulation in certain settings can be overpowering, causing difficulties and behavior deterioration. VR isolates specific stimuli from the environment and allows subjects to control how much they will experience. Complex stimulus arrays can be simplified.

Lack of Generalization. Difficulty generalizing behaviors learned in a single setting to similar appropriate situations has frustrated treatment efforts in autism. What is taught in one situation does not necessarily occur naturally in related appropriate situations. VR makes generalization easier because of the realism that it brings to treatment situations.

Visual Thought Patterns . Many have observed that thinking in people with autism is primarily visual (Grandin, 1992; Schopler, 1987). Intervention techniques have been successful when they capitalize on these visual strengths (Mesibov, Schopler, & Hearsey, 1994). VR, emphasizing visual skills, seems to be an appropriate modality for people with autism and should give them an excellent opportunity for learning new concepts and behaviors.

Individualized Treatment. Although there are general characteristics that all people with autism share, effective approaches must individualize their techniques to meet the needs of individual clients (Schopler, Mesibov, & Hearsey, 1995). Computerized instruction using VR allows for constant readjustments, based on the needs and skills of individual clients. Learning imagery can be readjusted to compensate for individual styles and changing patterns.

Responsiveness with Computer Technology. Although computers have not been adapted by special education programs as quickly as some would like, there is increasing evidence that they represent an effective new approach to education and learning for children with developmental disabilities (Howard, Buch, Watson, & Shade, 1991). Given the characteristics of autism and the encouraging preliminary data, it appears reasonable to expand the use of computerized instruction for individuals with autism and VR is a promising avenue for this extension.

And the summary given from this brief report

The children complied with most requests. Some of our teaching goals were limited by technology or space, while others were limited by the difficulty of presenting a task to the children in a way that was understandable within their environment. However, the opportunity to introduce this technology to children was an important first step in exploring the potential VR offers to understanding the perceptual processes involved in autism.

Our results indicate that the children will accept a VR helmet and wear it, identify familiar objects in their environment while using the helmet, and locate and move toward objects in their environment while wearing the helmet.

More research is necessary to verify the potential in this area, especially to discover if learning experiences through VR generalize to other environments, but it appears virtual reality may provide a useful tool for furthering our understanding of autism and guiding efforts at treatment and intervention.