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Utilizing virtual reality and immersion video technology as a focused learning tool for children with autism spectrum disorder

2017; Elsevier BV; Volume: 35; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.pedn.2017.01.013

1532-8449

Pelagia Papathomas, Karen Goldschmidt,

Family and Disability Support Research

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by “persistent deficits in social communication and interaction across a variety of contexts” ( American Psychological Association [APA], 2015 American Psychological Association [APA] Neurobehavioral disorders: Autism spectrum disorder, diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). 5th ed. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, D.C.2015http://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm01#x98808.2728600 Google Scholar , para. 1). The DSM-V further classified ASD into 3 severity levels, with children classified at level 1 exhibiting higher function and children classified at level 3 having most severe form of ASD. Much of the Virtual Reality (VR) research has been conducted with level 1 ASD children ( Didehbani et al., 2016 Didehbani N. Allen T. Kandalat M. Krawczyk D. Chapman S. Virtual reality social cognition training for children with high functioning autism. Computers in Human Behavior. 2016; 62: 703-711 Crossref Scopus (234) Google Scholar ). Level 1 ASD children have difficulty in understanding the rules of communication, often misread nonverbal cues, and may show emotional indifference, yet they demonstrate average to above average intellectual abilities ( American Psychological Association [APA], 2015 American Psychological Association [APA] Neurobehavioral disorders: Autism spectrum disorder, diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). 5th ed. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, D.C.2015http://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm01#x98808.2728600 Google Scholar ; Didehbani et al., 2016 Didehbani N. Allen T. Kandalat M. Krawczyk D. Chapman S. Virtual reality social cognition training for children with high functioning autism. Computers in Human Behavior. 2016; 62: 703-711 Crossref Scopus (234) Google Scholar ). Impaired self-deficits are also common, such as a high dependence on routines and structure, sensitivity to change, and a hyper-focus on unusual topics or tasks ( American Psychological Association [APA], 2015 American Psychological Association [APA] Neurobehavioral disorders: Autism spectrum disorder, diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). 5th ed. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, D.C.2015http://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm01#x98808.2728600 Google Scholar ). Many of these deficits become evident in early childhood making it difficult for ASD children to establish relationships with other children. Using VR therapies with level 1 ASD children has proven effective in bridging the social and emotional gap that isolates them from their peers ( Didehbani et al., 2016 Didehbani N. Allen T. Kandalat M. Krawczyk D. Chapman S. Virtual reality social cognition training for children with high functioning autism. Computers in Human Behavior. 2016; 62: 703-711 Crossref Scopus (234) Google Scholar ). Traditional therapies used to help ASD children improve impaired social and emotional self-deficits have often proven challenging with this population ( Lorenzo et al., 2016 Lorenzo G. Lledó A. Pomares J. Roig R. Design and application of an immersive virtual reality system to enhance emotional skills for children with autism spectrum disorders. Computers & Education. 2016; 98: 192-205https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.03.018 Crossref Scopus (107) Google Scholar ).