A systematic review: the application of virtual reality on the skill-specific performance in people with ASD

ABSTRACT

Given the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the demand for treatment, there is a continuous seeking and uncertainty of effective interventions for people with ASD. As technology continues to advance, the application of Virtual Reality is emerging in clinical settings. This systematic review summarised findings to evaluate the application of virtual reality (VR) on the skill-specific performance in people with ASD. The purpose is to determine (1) if VR is an effective treatment for people with ASD in skill-specific performance and (2) can Occupational Therapists employ VR in their practice. Eight databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed articles that were published from January 2012 to February 2018. Eight articles met the inclusion criteria. The measurements of specific skills were categorised into three main domains: job interviewing, driving, and other ADLs. A diverse range of outcome measures were utilised and provided various results. Despite the consistent positive results reported in the studies, the current evidence base lacks justification of sample sizes, reliability and validity of the findings. Although VR shows potential as an effective intervention, limitations and bias of studies should be considered. Results of studies must be interpreted with caution if Occupational Therapists are interested in employing VR in their practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational therapy
• virtual reality
• Autism Spectrum Disorder

Acknowledgements

The systematic review topic was conceptualised, designed and implemented by the authorship team. Each member of the authorship team was involved in the searching, assessing, appraising and synthesising of the literature and equally contributed to the drafting and revising of manuscript. The authorship team is accountable for the work underpinning this systematic review and any issues related to the accuracy or integrity of any of this work will be appropriately investigated and resolved. The final manuscript has been read and approved by all authors. We would like to show our gratitude to Dr. Saravana Kumar for sharing his pearls of wisdom with us during the course of this research as a UniSA Associate Professor. We are also immensely grateful to Kiersten Fletcher for comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

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