The Development and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Intervention for Adults with Autism: A Design-based Research Study
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Interest in using virtual reality technologies to provide therapeutic and educational platforms for individuals with ASD has been growing for decades.The contents of this article-based dissertation are related to the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a virtual reality intervention called Virtuoso.Virtuoso is a suite of virtual reality technologies designed to promote the acquisition of adaptive skills related to catching public transportation for individuals with autism in an adult day program.This article-based dissertation addresses both pragmatic research to practice gaps, and the advancement of theory that underpins design considerations of the intervention.The first article presents a design and development case study that describes how interdisciplinary processes were utilized to create a multi-user virtual environment for adults with autism.While research points to the difficulty of developing virtual environments, few studies have articulated the process in detail which leaves a gap in the literature.The second article presents findings from a user-centric evaluation of the first prototype of Virtuoso.Evaluation focused on the users' perceptions of acceptance, feasibility, ease-of-use, user experience, and relevance of the system.The third article examines the character of cybersickness symptoms that participants experienced while undergoing three virtual reality research sessions that evolved in visual fidelity and task complexity.The nature of learner experiences while using commercial head-mounted displays including the Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard are also reported.The fourth article presents findings from a systematic review of the literature that was conducted in the spring of 2020.This review of the literature examines how virtual reality interventions for individuals with autism have been designed from the early work in the field to the present day.Six scholarly databases were queried to synthesize relevant literature around virtual reality and autism spectrum disorders.Data extracted includes technological descriptions, hardware and software design, target audience, and system goals.committee for all of the time and energy they took to review and provide feedback on my work.I greatly appreciate your advice and expertise.I would like to recognize Dr. Miriam Raider-Roth for sparking my passion for research when she invited me to join the Jewish Court of All Time research project when I was still in the master's program.I especially want to thank Dr. Matthew Schmidt for all of his care and support as I grew as an academic.It has been an absolute pleasure working with him over the last four years.Without him I would be unable to use a calendar, an organizer, or the reply-all function.I look forward to continuing our collaboration as colleagues in the institution.I want to thank the Association for Educational Communications & Technology and other professional organizations that provide invaluable opportunities for emerging scholars.I would like to extend my gratitude towards the associates of the Impact Innovation program for participating in my study and the staff who helped coordinate it.I also want to thank my good friends and colleagues Tina Riedy and Heath Palmer.You two have been invaluable as designers and developers on many projects I have been part of, but more importantly as friends.I also want to thank all my family for constantly asking "
Author: Glaser, Noah
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7064857503