The Impact of Virtual Reality on the Skill Acquisition and Cognitive Development of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a growing occurrence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children and adolescents. ASD is acknowledged as a neurodevelopmental disease, which can trigger serious developmental impairments and delays in language development, social and communication abilities, interest construction and behavioral patterns. Virtual reality (VR) technology is gaining increasing attention as a potential effective tool to prevent and rehabilitate ASD. Numerous studies have summarized the application of VR technology in autism developmental deficits. This review focuses on whether VR-based cognitive and performance training can hone the daily living skills, social communication capacities and academic abilities of children and teenagers diagnosed with ASD. The summary of several evidence-based studies demonstrates that VR platforms offer an innovative and efficacious option for the treatment of some deficits in autism. Despite its low cost and ease of accessibility, VR still has noteworthy limitations that need to be resolved. Future research might look into its application in other skill acquisition, correlation with brain function, adjunctive function in therapeutic treatment, and cross-cultural inquiry.