Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: May 23, 2024
Date Accepted: Dec 20, 2024
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effectiveness of virtual reality technology intervention in improving social skills in children and adolescents with autism: A systematic review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Background:
Virtual reality (VR) technology has demonstrated the potential to aid the social abilities of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Objective:
Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of evidence supporting the use of VR technology to enhance the social skills of children and adolescents with ASD.
Methods:
Methods:
Four databases, namely PubMed, Web of Science, IEEE, and Scopus were searched for eligible studies. Two researchers independently assessed the extracted studies according to pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria. The researchers independently extracted information regarding the sources, samples, measurement methods, primary results, and data related to the main results of the included studies. The quality of studies was further evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale.
Results:
Results:
Fourteen studies investigating the use of VR technology to improve the social abilities of children and adolescents with ASD were included. Nine of the 14 studies (64.1%) were single-group before-and-after trials, 4 (28.8%) were randomised controlled trials, and 1 (7.1%) was a single-case trial. We summarised the results of these existing studies, finding that 13 of the 14 studies reported that VR technology positively improved the social abilities of children and adolescents with ASD, while only one study reported that VR technology had no significant effect. Assessment of the 14 studies in the PEDro scale showed that six (42.9%) were rated as high quality, four (28.5%) as fair quality, and four (28.6%) as low quality.
Conclusions:
Conclusions:
Previous research has indicated the potential of VR technology to enhance the social skills of children and adolescents with ASD. Future studies should focus on conducting higher-quality randomized controlled trials to validate these findings. Furthermore, there is a growing need to create diverse VR scenarios to meet the varying needs of individuals with different forms of ASD. Clinical Trial: Our research protocol was registered in the International Platform for Registering Protocols for International Systematic Evaluation and Meta-Analysis (INPLASY) International Platform (ID: INPLASY202420079U1).
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