Cited in an article published on the Forbes website1, a study exploring the benefits of virtual reality immersion appears to be opening doors for skills acquisition, especially when one has to deal with intellectual disabilities.
Published on August 21, 2024, the report2 signed by the research team of Anthony Franze3 seems indeed to advocate for the introduction of virtual reality tools in the empowerment strategies of individuals with such deciciencies.
It is mainly daily tasks that are targeted, considered « simple » for neurotypicals (i.e. people who are not positioned on the autism spectrum).
Subjects showing signs of autism tend to need, in their everyday lives, clear procedures to guide them in their interactions with others.
The « further » the person is considered to be « from neurotypicals » on the autism spectrum, the more difficult it becomes to handle daily tasks. The syndrom eventually reaches a point where even basic choices, out of social life, end up being persistent challenges.
Not only does that prevent people « on the spectrum » to struggle with personal and social growth, but it can also deprive them of the same life quality that neurotypical naturally enjoy. Crossing the street, for example, or dealing with laundry may appear as an overwhelming task for some because of spatial representation difficulties, « overthinking » triggering anxiety issues, and so on.
The study conducted by Franze and his team shed light on a prominent argument in favor of VR applications in the context of ID (Intellectual Defficiencies): virtual reality makes it possible to reproduce a fair part of what is likely to happen in a real life scenario, while limiting the exposure to physical risks.
Placing the subject in a room prepared to « synchronize » with the virtual realm, it may be possible to « map » the VR world with the real one such a way that physical sensations could be reproduced where it matters (like « feeling the virtual walls » or « touching the virtual table »).
That approach may give a great contribution to ensuring a maximum immersion and finelly controlled visual stimulations for attracting the attention where it needs to be, so that the subject can focus on the task (s)he is trained for.