Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills
Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by differences in socio-pragmatic communication. These conditions are allocated within a “spectrum” of phenotypic variability. Virtual reality (VR) is a useful tool for healthcare intervention and particularly safely advancing social abi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/2/181 |
| _version_ | 1797481725405691904 |
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| author | Alessandro Frolli Giulia Savarese Francesca Di Carmine Antonia Bosco Emilio Saviano Angelo Rega Marco Carotenuto Maria Carla Ricci |
| author_facet | Alessandro Frolli Giulia Savarese Francesca Di Carmine Antonia Bosco Emilio Saviano Angelo Rega Marco Carotenuto Maria Carla Ricci |
| author_sort | Alessandro Frolli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by differences in socio-pragmatic communication. These conditions are allocated within a “spectrum” of phenotypic variability. Virtual reality (VR) is a useful tool for healthcare intervention and particularly safely advancing social abilities in children with ASD. Methods: In our study two types of intervention for improving social skills were compared: (i) emotional training obtained by the use of virtual reality (Gr1), (ii) traditional emotional training performed individually with a therapist (Gr2). We aimed to identify the intervention with the shortest acquisition time for the proposed social tasks. Results: Our findings show that both types of intervention had the same acquisition time for the recognition of primary emotions. However, for the use of primary and secondary emotions, the group using VR showed shorter acquisition times. Conclusions: These findings together with previous preliminary datasuggest that VR can be a promising, dynamic and effective practice for the support of basic and complex social skills of these individuals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:18:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6705b2177934fb6a7b32bf47729542c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:18:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6705b2177934fb6a7b32bf47729542c2023-11-23T19:18:51ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672022-02-019218110.3390/children9020181Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social SkillsAlessandro Frolli0Giulia Savarese1Francesca Di Carmine2Antonia Bosco3Emilio Saviano4Angelo Rega5Marco Carotenuto6Maria Carla Ricci7Disability Research Centre, University of International Studies in Rome, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 200, 00147 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, ItalyDisability Research Centre, University of International Studies in Rome, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 200, 00147 Rome, ItalyFINDS—Italian Neuroscience and Developmental Disorders Foundation, 81040 Caserta, ItalyFINDS—Italian Neuroscience and Developmental Disorders Foundation, 81040 Caserta, ItalyDepartment of Humanities, University of Naples, 80133 Naples, ItalyClinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Mental Health, Physical and Preventive Medicine, Università degli Studi della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80100 Naples, ItalyDisability Research Centre, University of International Studies in Rome, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 200, 00147 Rome, ItalyBackground: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by differences in socio-pragmatic communication. These conditions are allocated within a “spectrum” of phenotypic variability. Virtual reality (VR) is a useful tool for healthcare intervention and particularly safely advancing social abilities in children with ASD. Methods: In our study two types of intervention for improving social skills were compared: (i) emotional training obtained by the use of virtual reality (Gr1), (ii) traditional emotional training performed individually with a therapist (Gr2). We aimed to identify the intervention with the shortest acquisition time for the proposed social tasks. Results: Our findings show that both types of intervention had the same acquisition time for the recognition of primary emotions. However, for the use of primary and secondary emotions, the group using VR showed shorter acquisition times. Conclusions: These findings together with previous preliminary datasuggest that VR can be a promising, dynamic and effective practice for the support of basic and complex social skills of these individuals.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/2/181level 1 ASDvirtual realitysocial skillsemotional trainingtheory of mind |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Frolli Giulia Savarese Francesca Di Carmine Antonia Bosco Emilio Saviano Angelo Rega Marco Carotenuto Maria Carla Ricci Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills Children level 1 ASD virtual reality social skills emotional training theory of mind |
| title | Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills |
| title_full | Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills |
| title_fullStr | Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills |
| title_full_unstemmed | Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills |
| title_short | Children on the Autism Spectrum and the Use of Virtual Reality for Supporting Social Skills |
| title_sort | children on the autism spectrum and the use of virtual reality for supporting social skills |
| topic | level 1 ASD virtual reality social skills emotional training theory of mind |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/2/181 |
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