Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Approach to Develop Social and Communication Skills in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders Without Intellectual Impairment
Psychiatria Danubina
Astafeva, D., Syunyakov, T., et al. (2024).
Psychiatria Danubina, 36(Suppl 2), 361-370.
<div>This review explores the effects of social and communication interventions delivered via virtual reality, augmented reality, or mixed reality to children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. </div>
Samara State Medical University (Russia)
From database inception to May 30, 2024
<div>Intervention studies</div>
25
<div>Social skills and communication interventions delivered via virtual reality, augmented reality, or mixed reality had mixed, but generally positive, outcomes in children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. Treatments aimed to improve cognition, joint attention, eye contact, social communication, and emotion recognition. Individual studies reported either positive, mixed, or neutral findings. No negative findings were reported. Overall, the results of this review support the feasibility of interventions delivered via virtual, augmented, or mixed realities. However, this review does not clearly demonstrate the overall effect of these interventions.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Limitations to this review include a limited search strategy with the use of only one database, small sample sizes, and heterogeneity between studies. Additional, high-quality research with larger sample sizes is needed.</div>
