Designing and deploying a virtual social sandbox for autistic children

Abstract

Purpose

This exploratory study was intended to investigate the design and feasibility of using a web virtual reality based social learning space for autistic children at home.

Materials and methods

The researchers of the current study developed and implemented an open-source, web virtual reality based learning program for children with autism. Endorsing mixed-method convergent parallel design, we collected both qualitative and quantitative data from four autistic children, including repeated measures of social skills performance, self- and parent-reported social and communication competence, observation notes, and individual interviews.

Results

The study found preliminary evidence for a positive impact of deploying a virtual reality-based social sandbox on the practice and development of complex social skills for autistic children. All participants showed significant reduced social communication impairments from the pre- to the post-intervention phases. Nevertheless, participants’ social skills performance in the virtual world was mediated by two social task design features—external goal structure and individualization.

Conclusions

Play- and design-oriented social tasks in the three-dimensional virtual world framed meaningful social experiences or the naturalistic intervention for social skills development.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• Positive impacts of using a virtual reality-based social sandbox on complex social skills development for autistic children.

• Social task design features mediate social skills performance of autistic children.

• Purposeful environment arrangement creates a naturalistic intervention for autism.

Keywords:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• collaborative virtual reality
• social skills training
• naturalistic intervention
• virtual world

Ethical approval

This study was approved by Florida State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) committees. Written consents were provided by all study participants and their parents.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spencer Foundation under [Grant #201400178].