Virtual Reality Air Travel Training with Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is categorized by deficits in social communication and interaction, alongside repetitive, restrictive behaviors or interests (RRBIs). Previous research supports the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) to train a variety of specific skills (i.e., riding a bus or crossing the street) as well as more complex social skills, such as emotion recognition and functional communication. The present reports the implementation of a VR-based air travel functional communication activity in five children diagnosed with ASD. Using an iPhone X and Google Cardboard device, researchers delivered the VR intervention once per week for 3 weeks to each participant. During these interventions, researchers measured activity completion ability on a 4-point scale. At week 4, all children participated in a real-world air travel rehearsal at the San Diego International Airport. Parents were asked to rate their child's air travel abilities before week 1 and after week 4. All children improved their air travel skills from pre-to postintervention, reflected in both the researchers' and parents' observations. All children navigated the real-world airport under their own power. This preliminary report suggests the efficacy of VR to teach basic air travel skills to young children diagnosed with autism. Clinician observations regarding attention to the VR and strategies for helping participants accept the intervention technique are discussed. Future iterations of this program will require larger sample sizes and more robust clinical measurements-such as communication samples and physiological monitoring.

A Process-Model for Minimizing Adverse Effects when Using Head Mounted Display-Based Virtual Reality for Individuals with Autism

“…Auspicious claims championing the potential of VR for individuals with ASD are abundant in the literature of the past 25 years-from the earliest reports (e.g., Strickland, 1996;1997) to the most recent (Miller et al, 2019;Ke et al, 2020). However, "While it is apparent that VR has great conceptual potential, research and development are early on the road to making it a reality" Anagnostou, 2014, p. 2137).…”

The project of professional career orientation complex for ASD pupils based on virtual reality technologies

“…The study by D. Strickland et al also demonstrated the effectiveness of virtual reality in teaching children with ASD the skills of safe behavior [31]. And thanks to the application, portable glasses (Google Cardboard) and smartphones (iPhone X), adolescents with ASD in three weeks learned socially acceptable behavior at the airport and on board an airplane [17].…”

Electroencephalographic Correlate of Mexican Spanish Emotional Speech Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder: To a Social Story and Robot-Based Intervention

“…On the other hand, improvements can be observed in brief implementations and short sessions (5min sessions over a 1 to 4-week period) (Vandermeer et al, 2015;Kurt and Kutlu, 2019). The Social Story TM approach has been recently adapted to technology-based interventions to enhance the motivation of patients, facility and efficacy of the interventions (Miller et al, 2020).…”