The potential of virtual reality in social skills training for people with autistic spectrum disorders.
BACKGROUND: People with autism experience profound and pervasive difficulties in the social domain. Attempts to teach social behaviours tend to adopt either a behavioural or a 'theory of mind' (ToM) approach. The beneficial aspects and limitations of both paradigms are summarized before an examinati...
| Published in: | Journal of Intellectual Disability Research Vol. 46; no. 5; pp. 430 - 444 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | review Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Jun2002
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=106984864&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 106984864 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09642633 EUL jtl: Journal of Intellectual Disability Research issn: 09642633 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jun2002 vid: 46 iid: 5 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 106984864 106984864 2002171159 10.1046/j.1365-2788.2002.00425.x 106984864 ppf: 430 ppct: 14 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: The potential of virtual reality in social skills training for people with autistic spectrum disorders. aug: au: Parsons S Mitchell P affil: School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK; lpxsjp@psychology.nottingham.ac.uk sug: subj: Virtual Reality Autism Spectrum Disorder Therapy Social Skills Training Behavior Therapy Autism Spectrum Disorder Physiopathology Theory Computer-Assisted Instruction Rehabilitation, Cognitive Child Adolescence Adult Child: 6-12 years Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years ab: BACKGROUND: People with autism experience profound and pervasive difficulties in the social domain. Attempts to teach social behaviours tend to adopt either a behavioural or a 'theory of mind' (ToM) approach. The beneficial aspects and limitations of both paradigms are summarized before an examination of how virtual reality technology may offer a way to combine the strengths from both approaches. METHODS: This is not an exhaustive review of the literature; rather, the papers are chosen as representative of the current understanding within each broad topic. Web of Science ISI, EMBASE and PsycInfo were searched for relevant articles. RESULTS: Behavioural and ToM approaches to social skills training achieve some success in improving specific skills or understanding. However, the failure to generalize learned behaviours to novel environments, and the unwieldy nature of some behavioural methodologies, means that there is a need for a training package that is easy to administer and successful in promoting learning across contexts. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality technology may be an ideal tool for allowing participants to practise behaviours in role-play situations, whilst also providing a safe environment for rule learning and repetition of tasks. Role-play within virtual environments could promote the mental simulation of social events, potentially allowing a greater insight into minds. Practice of behaviours, both within and across contexts, could also encourage a more flexible approach to social problem solving. Virtual environments offer a new and exciting perspective on social skills training for people with autistic spectrum disorders. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: review Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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