Guest editorial: Applications of virtual reality in autism research

Abstract

his special issue of the Journal of Enabling Technologies aimed to examine virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) and autistic experiences within a multitude of contexts, such as accessibility, sensory processing, education, teaching and living skills. Specifically, we have six articles that evaluate these topics. We have included papers on AR and XR in the special issue because VR is a spectrum in and of itself, allowing for varying levels of immersion and intractability. Until the taxonomy problem is resolved (or at least, clarified), we recommend exploring a broad spectrum of immersive technology applications in autism research. We have also written two opinion pieces as part of this special issue. We believe these two papers illustrate two main challenges researchers currently face in the interdisciplinary field of VR applications in autism research. We will highlight how the participatory action research (PAR) piece fits with the articles in our special issue later in the text. Our second opinion piece discusses current trends and challenges in the taxonomy. We can no longer deny that VR has established itself in autism research. As the number of studies continues to grow, it is a perfect time to reconsider and update our notion of definitions of immersion and its reliance on hardware.