Virtual Reality as Therapy for Autism

Researchers estimate approximately one fourth of children who have autism struggle with phobias that can negatively impact their daily lives. Thanks to modern technology, researchers have discovered a promising new method of treating these extreme fears. Using virtual reality therapy, researchers at Newcastle University in England in conjunction with Third Eye NeuroTech have created interactive computer-generated scenarios to help children with autism deal with their fears.

Last week, Science Daily published an online article regarding this research that was also published on February 14, 2019, in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and Autism in Adulthood. [To read “Immersive virtual reality therapy shows lasting effect in treatment of phobias in children with autism,” please click here.]

For this therapy, known as the Blue Room treatment, children and adults with autism were exposed to a 360-degree virtual environment related to their specific fears. In real life, the people with autism would have difficulty coping with these frightening scenes. As researcher Dr. Morag Maskey notes, people with autism may have trouble imagining scenes, but the virtual reality allows them to visualize these scenarios while they are provided support to deal with their fears. Accompanied by a psychologist, the children used an iPad to navigate and control completely the situations they were shown. In addition, they did not have to wear goggles, unlike some forms of virtual reality.

Some of the phobias addressed in this treatment included fears of the dark, walking into rooms, school, public transportation, elevators, dolls, balloons, dogs, and wasps and bees. For the first study, 32 children with autism who were between 8 and 14 years old were divided equally into two groups. The first group began treatment in the Blue Room immediately, whereas the second group, acting as the control group, waited six months to begin the Blue Room treatment. The children spent four sessions per week in the Blue Room with a psychologist observing personalized scenarios related to their individual phobias. Their parents could also observe these sessions through a video link. After these treatments, the parents provided opportunities for their children to face their fears in the real world.

Two weeks after the virtual reality treatment, 25% of the children in the first group were able to cope with their specific phobias. Six months later, the positive effects of the therapy remained, as 38% showed improvement, and only one child displayed an increase in the intensity of the phobia. In the second group, 40% showed improvement two weeks after completing the treatment, and 45% retained the benefits of the therapy six months later.

In a similar but smaller study, eight adults with autism ranging in age from 18 to 57 participated in four twenty-minute sessions in the Blue Room interacting with scenarios personalized for their specific phobias. Six months later, five of the adults retained the benefits of this therapy.

While the research team plans further studies to see how long lasting the effects of this therapy are and to discover why some children and adults do not respond to this treatment, the positive results are encouraging. As Dr. Maskey states, “It is incredibly rewarding to see the effect it [the Blue Room treatment method] can have for some, overcoming a situation which just a week previously would have been so distressing.”

Moreover, the leader of the study, Professor Jeremy Parr from the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University, emphasizes how life changing the effects of this therapy could be. He states, “For many children and their families, anxiety can rule their lives as they try to avoid the situations which can trigger their child’s fears or phobia.” Furthermore, he adds that this treatment “offers hope to families who have very few treatment options for anxiety available to them.”

Since extreme fears can produce debilitating anxiety in people with autism, potentially triggering aggressive panic attacks or causing them to avoid situations they fear, addressing phobias in a supportive way could have lifelong benefits. Fortunately, the researchers at Newcastle University and the technology experts from Third Eye NeuroTech have discovered that virtual reality may help children and adults with autism successfully overcome phobias so that they may face everyday reality fearlessly.

“I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4