In Singapore, the Special Education for Autism (SEA) calls for a more focused, systematically structured framework
to cater to the needs of children with autism in schools. As autism is a syndrome with co morbid subtypes and
different degrees of severity, a universal design for both learning and living becomes necessary to meet all the various
needs and demands of the children. Adapted from the Response to Intervention (RTI) initiative first introduced under
the IDEA 2004, the SEA framework is divided into three intervention levels: Level 1 covers all core autism
intervention practices; Level 2 includes supplemental autism interventions; and Level 3 concerns individually
customized autism interventions. This paper focuses on one virtual reality (VR) based autism intervention using
artificial agents (3D virtual dolphins) in a 3D virtual dolphinarium developed and conducted at the Institute for
Media Innovation, Singapore. The authors explored the possible application of universal design in this VR-based
intervention within the framework of contextual teaching and learning (CTL) for children with autism.