Evaluating the Acceptability and Usability of a Head-Mounted Augmented Reality Approach for Autistic Children with High Support Needs

Abstract

Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR) are promising to complement practitioners' interventions with autistic children, but they mainly target the socio-emotional abilities of children with low support needs. For autistic children with high support needs, sensory-based and mediation approaches are advised with AR headsets, to keep contact with their familiar environment and their real practitioner, while VR presents risks of isolation. Yet, the acceptability and usability of AR headsets for these children remains unknown. Thus, this paper investigates the possibility to use AR headsets with Magic Bubbles, a multisensory environment designed for autistic children with high support needs, to reassure them while reinforcing the dyadic relationship with their practitioner. Drawing upon a previous design validation with 11 practitioners, acceptability and usability testings were conducted at a day hospital with 10 children with neurodevelopmental disorders and associated intellectual disability. Findings confirm a positive acceptability and usability for these children, thus validating the possibility to use Magic Bubbles with autistic children with high support needs. At last, future directions regarding the use of AR in clinical settings are outlined.

Head-mounted augmented reality to support reassurance and social interaction for autistic children with severe learning disabilities

“…Then, it was adapted for a day hospital setting, where pre-tests with eleven practitioners validated its acceptability and usability for a clinical team (Bauer et al, 2021). After that, pre-tests with ten children with neurodevelopmental conditions and associated intellectual disabilities validated its acceptability and usability for autistic children with SLN (Bauer et al, 2022).…”

“…More information about the design is available in a previous paper (Bauer et al, 2021). Video presentations of the design (Bauer et al, 2021), pre-tests (Bauer et al, 2022), and some critical incidents that occurred during the long-term experiment presented in this paper are available at this link: https://valentinbauer.com/research/doctorat.…”

“…Therefore, to validate the suitability of our apparatus for such children, preliminary testing was conducted with eleven practitioners at the day hospital (Bauer et al, 2021). Preliminary testing with ten children with neurodevelopmental conditions also ensured that Magic Bubbles was positively accepted, easily used, and generated enjoyment (Bauer et al, 2022). Even if we did not find AR/VR studies focusing on cybersickness or sensory issues for autistic children with SLN at the time of our study, we adopted a protocol that intended to minimize such risks as described below (e.g., two psychologists who knew the children always being present to detect any sign of discomfort).…”

“…For privacy issues, children's names were anonymized by using identifiers such as IDX (where X is a number). The identifiers do not go from 1 to 7, as some were already assigned during the pre-tests (e.g., ID5 is a non-autistic child who participated in the pre-tests) (Bauer et al, 2022).…”

“…Following these insights, the environment Magic Bubbles was designed in collaboration with eleven practitioners (Bauer et al, 2021). Pre-tests were conducted with ten children with neurodevelopmental conditions and ID to measure acceptability and usability (Bauer et al, 2022). To finally validate its potential to prompt reassurance 2 and social interaction, we conducted a long-term study with seven autistic children in a day hospital setting.…”