Virtual reality in autism: state of the art

Abstract

This Section of Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences regularly appears in each issue of the Journal to describe relevant studies investigating the relationship between neurobiology and psychosocial psychiatry in major psychoses. The aim of these Editorials is to provide a better understanding of the neural basis of psychopathology and clinical features of these disorders, in order to raise new perspectives in every-day clinical practice. Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by core deficits with regard to three domains, i.e. social interaction, communication and repetitive or stereotypic behaviour. It is crucial to develop intervention strategies helping individuals with autism, their caregivers and educators in daily life. For this purpose, virtual reality (VR), i.e. a simulation of the real world based on computer graphics, can be useful as it allows instructors and therapists to offer a safe, repeatable and diversifiable environment during learning. This mini review examines studies that have investigated the use of VR in autism. Key words: autism spectrum disorders, rehabilitation, virtual environment, virtual reality.Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of pervasive developmental disorders characterized by core deficits in three domains, i.e. social interaction, communication and repetitive or stereotypic behaviour (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), occurring more often in boys than girls (4:1). There has been a significant increase of ASDs over the past few decades, with an incidence of approximately 4 per 10 000 to 6 per 1000 children (Lasalvia & Tansella 2009;Pejovic Milovancevic et al. 2009;Faras et al. 2010). The causes of autism remain largely unknown, but there is evidence that genetic, neurodevelopmental and environmental factors are involved, alone or in combination, as possible causal or predisposing effects of developing autism (Pensiero et al. 2009). Although the degree of impairment among individuals suffering from autism may vary, the impact on affected individuals and their families is generally life-changing. Most studies of ASDs are focused on epidemiology, genetics and neurobiology, but more intervention research is needed to help individuals with autism, their caregivers and educators. In this context, it is crucial to develop tools for neurocognitive habilitation enabling children with ASDs to increase their ability to perform daily-life activities. A rather promising tool has recently emerged in many domains of rehabilitation, namely virtual reality (VR) (Parsons et al. 2009). VR is a simulation of the real world based on computer graphics and can be used as an educational and therapeutic tool by instructors and therapists to offer children a safe environment for learning. Virtual environments (VEs) simulate the real world as it is or create completely new worlds, and provide experiences that can help patients understand concepts as (Email: marcella.bellani@univr.it or paolo.brambilla@uniud.it)Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences (2011), 20, 235-238.

Cognitive rehabilitation system for children with autism spectrum disorder using serious games: A pilot study

“…Positive results have been obtained using this technology in certain fields, and they can be used for cognitive rehabilitation purposes by offering secure repetitive environments [11].Virtual reality makes it possible to create safe environments [12] where they can learn rules and repeat the tasks [13]. Furthermore, interacting with avatars where social situations are replicated enables patients to work on these situations and find more flexible solutions [14,15]. This means that virtual environments may prove to be good instruments to work on social skills with ASD sufferers [16][17][18].…”

Using virtual reality for industrial design learning: a methodological proposal

“…Proposals have been developed to improve the results of teaching in primary and secondary education (Isik-Ercan et al, 2012) and children with special needs (Strickland, 1997, Bellani et al, 2011. At the postsecondary level, most works on the topic have focused on the simulation of surgical processes and other medical therapies (Aggarwal et al, 2006, Lemole et al, 2007.…”

A Bibliometric Study on the Use of Virtual Reality (VR) as an Educational Tool for High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Children

“…Researchers agree that RV technology is especially suited to the educational needs of individuals with ASD [7][8][9][10]. This is so because through VR we can recreate any situation and social context, adapting and customizing it to the sensorial preferences of the student [11], as well as defining, controlling and manipulating the level and number of characteristics of verbal and non-verbal communication [12].…”

“…In addition, VR technology is aligned with the visuospatial preference that is generally identified as a strength and main learning channel of students with ASD. Furthermore, it allows for a systematic and repeated practice of tasks in very similar contexts to the real ones in the absence of potential risks [9,10], also minimizing the associated fatigue to its realization in real contexts [13]. A typical discussion with regard to VR technology has to do with the level of immersion and sense of presence that it provides.…”