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Understanding Performance and Verbal-Communication of Children with ASD in a Collaborative Virtual Environment

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Abstract

Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs), which allow naturalistic communication between two or more individuals in a shared virtual environment, hold promise as a tool for measuring and promoting social communication between peers. In this work, a CVE platform and a set of CVE-based collaborative games are designed for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two groups (7 ASD/TD pairs; 7 TD/TD pairs) participated in a pilot study to establish system feasibility and tolerability. We also designed a methodology for capturing meaningful metrics of social communication. Based on these metrics, we found improved game performance and trends in communication of these participants over time. Although preliminary, these results provide important insights on CVE-based interaction for ASD intervention.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the National Institute of Health Grants 1R01MH091102-01A1 and 1R21MH111548-01, the National Science Foundation (0967170) and the Hobbs Society Grant from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. The authors would also express great appreciation to the participants and their families for assisting in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, 101 Olin Hall, 2400 Highland Ave, Nashville, TN, 37212, USA

    Lian Zhang

  2. Department of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    Zachary Warren

  3. Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    Amy Swanson & Amy Weitlauf

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    Nilanjan Sarkar

Authors
  1. Lian Zhang
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  2. Zachary Warren
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  3. Amy Swanson
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  4. Amy Weitlauf
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  5. Nilanjan Sarkar
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Contributions

LZ implemented the software used in the study, oversaw all experiments, conducted all data analyses, and drafted the technical portions of the manuscript. AS and AW provided major design considerations for the study from a clinical perspective, managed recruitment of participants, drafted portions of the manuscript, and aided in several rounds of editing and revision. NS and ZW conceived of the study, crafted the experimental design, and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lian Zhang.

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Zhang, L., Warren, Z., Swanson, A. et al. Understanding Performance and Verbal-Communication of Children with ASD in a Collaborative Virtual Environment. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 2779–2789 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3544-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3544-7

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