Teaching Social Skills to Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality
Research in Learning Technology
Mosher, M. A., & Carreon, A. C. (2021).
Research in Learning Technology, 29, https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v29.2626.
This systematic review investigates the social validity and social skill outcomes of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) in school-aged students on the autism spectrum.
None declared
2000 to March 2020
Single-subject, qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods empirical study designs
41
Social skill instruction using AR and VR technologies demonstrates social validity (e.g., ease of use, helpfulness) for students on the autism spectrum. School-aged children showed motivation and demonstrated a positive attitude toward the interventions. Reactions toward the intervention improved as technologies became easier and more natural to use. Despite initial challenges to using immersive technologies, students found more immersive VR (e.g., head-mounted displays) easier to use over time. Interestingly, even though VR and AR environments did not match their exact classrooms, students described the interactions with the virtual people and environment as feeling real. <br /><br />Limitations of this review include the potential of missed studies, inclusion of only school-aged students, variability in terminology, lack of effect size calculations, and inclusion of studies lacking validity and/or reliability measures. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of AR, VR, and MR technologies in teaching social skills to students on the autism spectrum.
Social skill interventions using AR or VR improved the knowledge, skills, and experiences of students on the autism spectrum and effectively taught at least one targeted social skill in 26 of 41 studies. Of the remaining studies, 4 found no significant improvement, and 11 showed mixed results. The majority of studies investigating the generalization of skills (79%) reported positive outcomes such as increased empathy and emotion identification. However, a few studies found mixed generalization outcomes. The majority of studies investigating maintenance (77%) found that students maintained improvements over time, especially for those who participated in the intervention for a longer period.<br /><br />Limitations of this review include the potential of missed studies, inclusion of only school-aged students, variability in terminology, lack of effect size calculations, and inclusion of studies lacking validity and/or reliability measures. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of AR, VR, and MR technologies in teaching social skills to students on the autism spectrum.
