Virtual Reality Based Collaborative Multiplayer Task Platform for Children with Autism

Children with autism are characterized by deficits in fluid interpersonal social communication due to difficulties in understanding other's perspectives and line-of-thought during interaction. With technological advancement, investigators have shown the potential of computer-based multiplayer collaborative environments to promote social interaction among these children. However, none of the existing research have emphasized the use of subtle implicit aspects of social communication e.g., understanding of other's perspective and line-of-thought before taking an action, crucial for social interaction. This paper presents the design of virtual reality based collaborative task platform that offered a context requiring one to pick up the line-of-thought and perspective of a partner for the task to be successful. Results of a study with 10 pairs of typically developing participants and 3 pairs with autism indicate variations in the (i) interaction abilities of the two groups of participants and (ii) cognitive effort as evident from physiology.