Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training for children with high functioning autism

TLDR

Virtual reality offers a motivating platform for children with ASD to practice social skills, yet existing studies have limited evidence of its effectiveness. This study examined whether a Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training program could improve social skills in children with ASD. Thirty children aged 7–16 completed ten 1‑hour VR sessions over five weeks, with pre‑ and post‑tests on emotion recognition, social attribution, attention, and executive function. The program produced significant gains in emotion recognition, social attribution, and analogical reasoning executive function, indicating VR as an effective treatment for social impairments in ASD.

Abstract

Virtual reality appears to be a promising and motivating platform to safely practice and rehearse social skills for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the literature to date is subject to limitations in elucidating the effectiveness of these virtual reality interventions. This study investigated the impact of a Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training to enhance social skills in children with ASD. Thirty children between the ages of 7–16 diagnosed with ASD completed 10, 1-h sessions across 5 weeks. Three primary domains were measured pre-post: emotion recognition, social attribution, attention and executive function. Results revealed improvements on measures of emotion recognition, social attribution, and executive function of analogical reasoning. These preliminary findings suggest that the use of a virtual reality platform offers an effective treatment option for improving social impairments commonly found in ASD.