Using virtual reality to create role-playing environments to practice social skills or alleviate phobias has proven to be successful, increasingly, however, people with autism use virtual reality to convey their own experiences, both to raise awareness of the condition and to capture differences cognitive and perceptive. that. There is hope that autistic people, who might feel invisible because neurotypical people cannot understand their perspectives, will use virtual reality to close the gulf between themselves and the dominant neurotypical world they see around them. Researchers often implemented the technology to create virtual environments that would help autistic people prepare for encounters or situations that could be stressful.
Excerpt from “How Virtual Reality Can Help People with Autism”, by Sol Rogers, CEO and founder of REWIND, an immersive content study. Today's virtual reality scenarios are still greatly simplified, with only moderate amounts of the realism needed to fully simulate a true autistic experience. First-person virtual reality simulations can address that, but technical and research limitations mean that the technology isn't there yet. For example, the Center for Brain Health and the Center for Children's Studies at Yale University School of Medicine used virtual reality to help young adults with autism spectrum disorder learn how they could live alone and be responsible for their own finances.
She said putting on virtual headphones could be very empowering for students, because they were able to control their environment with light movements of the head. Although virtual reality is used to create a simulation in which an autistic person can practice their social skills or manage their anxiety, more people use technology to share their own experiences of living with autism. The use of technology enables “real world” exposure to train social skills in a controlled, repeatable and safe virtual environment (EV). A child puts on the helmet and navigates the virtual reality lesson, while the coach, who can be a parent, teacher, therapist, counselor, or personal assistant, supervises and interacts with the child via iPad.
In the virtual reality approach, participants enter a “Blue Room” where they navigate through a 360-degree video projection of a scene (accompanied by audio) that replicates the feared object or experience. Doctors who have used the Floreo system say that the virtual reality environment makes it easier for children to focus on the skill taught in lessons, unlike in the real world, where they may be overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. Ultimately, the virtual reality component allowed children to better cope with their phobias and learn to manage their response. Floreo has developed nearly 200 virtual reality lessons that are designed to help children develop social skills and train for real-world experiences, such as crossing the street or choosing where to sit in the school cafeteria.
Another challenge for the future is how virtual reality can be used as a true therapeutic or research tool for autism. For the past two decades, he has focused heavily on research on the use of virtual reality (VR) technologies in the education of autistic children.
