Virtual reality enabled training for social adaptation in inclusive education settings for school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

The transition from kindergarten to primary school tends to be challenging for children with special needs. These children may benefit from relevant training in advance or in addition to school, yet it is challenging to support such training in an authentic, safe and controllable environment. In this paper, we present a Virtual Reality (VR) enabled system to facilitate social adaptation training for school-aged children with clinical or suspected diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the inclusive education setting. Six unique VR training scenarios with corresponding training protocols are designed, implemented and being delivered to over 100 school-aged children with normal-ranged IQ (IQ > 70) via a 4-side fully immersive CAVE™ VR installation in 28 sessions (14 weeks). Preliminary results indicate that after training completion, children show significant improvements in three major designated aspects, including emotion recognition, affective expression and social reciprocity.