It is now estimated that 1 in 50 children are afflicted with Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD), so it is more important than ever to find effective treatments. Some of the most promising
treatments involve Virtual Reality (VR), with its high level of immersion, to simulate and teach
social skills in Virtual Environments (VE).
One of the most immersive technologies available, the head mounted display (HMD),
was recently advanced as the next generation of the device was released. In the past headmounted
displays had poor viewing angles, high latency, caused eyestrain and headaches, and
were cumbersome, which caused the HMDs to be rejected by the community to treat those with
developmental disabilities. The new HMDs fix all of these problems and seem to be poised as a
perfect platform for next generation interventions. The purpose of this research is to answer two
questions: to what extent do those with ASD or those with general developmental disabilities
accept and follow instructions using the HMD and to what extent do these individuals feel
presence, induced by the device, while using the HMD when compared to a neurotypical
individual with no learning disabilities.
To answer these questions, a between-group study was conducted between those with
ASD and those that are considered neurotypicals. The ages of the subjects ranged between 6-9
and were selected from a local elementary school. A virtual environment was developed in which
subjects were required to perform simple tasks such as recognizing various objects and
maneuvering through an environment. Scores were recorded based on the ability to complete the
tasks within the virtual environment successfully as well as their acceptance of the head-mounted
display itself. This work reports that individuals with ASD are able to follow instructions using
the new HMD but not at an equal level as neurotypicals.