Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, which can have significant impacts on daily life, education, and work. Limited performance in learning and working, as well as exclusion from social activities, are common challenges faced...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Electronics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/12/11/2497 |
| _version_ | 1797597649592909824 |
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| author | Chen Li Meike Belter Jing Liu Heide Lukosch |
| author_facet | Chen Li Meike Belter Jing Liu Heide Lukosch |
| author_sort | Chen Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, which can have significant impacts on daily life, education, and work. Limited performance in learning and working, as well as exclusion from social activities, are common challenges faced by individuals with ASD. Virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as a promising medium for delivering interventions for ASD. To address five major research questions and understand the latest trends and challenges in this area, a systematic review of 21 journal articles published between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2022 was conducted using the PRISMA approach. A meta-analysis of 15 articles was further conducted to assess interventional effectiveness. The results showed that most studies focused on social and affective skill training and relied on existing theories and practices with limited adaptations for VR. Furthermore, the enabling technologies’ affordances for the interventional needs of individuals with ASD were not thoroughly investigated. We suggest that future studies should propose and design interventions with solid theoretical foundations, explore more interventional areas besides social and affective skill training, and employ more rigorous experimental designs to investigate the effectiveness of VR-enabled ASD interventions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:08:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b78e3b2a8f04b629c68d535b52c5b7f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:08:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electronics |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b78e3b2a8f04b629c68d535b52c5b7f2023-11-18T07:45:43ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922023-06-011211249710.3390/electronics12112497Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisChen Li0Meike Belter1Jing Liu2Heide Lukosch3Department of Applied Social Science and Department of Computing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaHIT Lab NZ, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New ZealandDepartment of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaHIT Lab NZ, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New ZealandAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, which can have significant impacts on daily life, education, and work. Limited performance in learning and working, as well as exclusion from social activities, are common challenges faced by individuals with ASD. Virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as a promising medium for delivering interventions for ASD. To address five major research questions and understand the latest trends and challenges in this area, a systematic review of 21 journal articles published between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2022 was conducted using the PRISMA approach. A meta-analysis of 15 articles was further conducted to assess interventional effectiveness. The results showed that most studies focused on social and affective skill training and relied on existing theories and practices with limited adaptations for VR. Furthermore, the enabling technologies’ affordances for the interventional needs of individuals with ASD were not thoroughly investigated. We suggest that future studies should propose and design interventions with solid theoretical foundations, explore more interventional areas besides social and affective skill training, and employ more rigorous experimental designs to investigate the effectiveness of VR-enabled ASD interventions.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/12/11/2497virtual realityautism spectrum disordersystematic reviewmeta-analysisintervention effectivenessimmersion |
| spellingShingle | Chen Li Meike Belter Jing Liu Heide Lukosch Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Electronics virtual reality autism spectrum disorder systematic review meta-analysis intervention effectiveness immersion |
| title | Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_full | Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_short | Immersive Virtual Reality Enabled Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis |
| title_sort | immersive virtual reality enabled interventions for autism spectrum disorder a systematic review and meta analysis |
| topic | virtual reality autism spectrum disorder systematic review meta-analysis intervention effectiveness immersion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/12/11/2497 |
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