Potential Application of Virtual Reality in ASD Intervention

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most widespread developmental mental illnesses. According to the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, about 1 in 44 children in United States has been diagnosed with ASD, and the number is still increasing. The current treatment options show many problems and limitations, and Virtual reality (VR) appears to be an innovative approach that may overcome these limitations. The survey in this study asked 57 parents with autistic children to rate their children’s ability, behavioral observations, and level of concern. The level of optimism regarding the potential of Virtual Reality was also compared between the ASD group and the control group, indicating that parents with ASD children are more pessimistic towards the VR treatment. There are several factors might contribute to their pessimism, such as more pressure and worse mental conditions in real life, the ineffectiveness of current treatment, and financial burdens. The result is consistent with previous research that parents with ASD children face a lot of challenges and the current autism interventions appear to be not very effective in dealing with core symptoms and co-occurring problems. Therefore, virtual Reality intervention has great potential for improving social and interaction skills, saving labor and time, and generalizing the improvement in VR programs to the real world.