Designing virtual reality tools for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A systematic review

Abstract

Nowadays, technology plays a fundamental role in the development of daily life activities. In this regard, there is an increase in disciplines that have used technologies, with educational fields standing out above all. Within education, there are a series of emerging technologies that are increasingly implemented in the classroom. Emerging technologies are also well aligned to autistic students and their specific learning and cognitive preferences. Therefore, the aim of this review is to carry out a systematic and thematic review on the application of Virtual reality (VR) in teaching and learning environments for autistic students during the period 1996–2021. Our analysis located a sample of 38 documents obtained from the WEB of Science and Scopus based on following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidance. Our results highlight that much of the research was focused on areas of emotional recognition and social skills development. In addition, we found that when activities were interactive and realistic within the VR environments, the acceptance of this tool was improved for this specific population.