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In this article, a virtual reality system for vocational rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities (VR4VR) is presented. VR4VR uses immersive virtual environments to assess and train individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities. This article focuses on the system modules that were designed and developed for the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) population. The system offers training on six vocational skills that were identified as transferrable to and useful in many common jobs. These six transferable skills are cleaning, loading the back of a truck, money management, shelving, environmental awareness, and social skills. This article presents the VR4VR system, the design considerations for the ASD population, and the findings with a cohort of nine neurotypical individuals (control group) and nine high-functioning individuals with ASD (experiment group) who used the system. Good design practices gathered throughout the study are also shared for future virtual reality applications targeting individuals with ASD. Research questions focused on the effectiveness of the virtual reality system on vocational training of high-functioning individuals with ASD and the effect of distracters on task performance of high-functioning individuals with ASD. Follow-up survey results indicated that for individuals with ASD, there was improvement in all of the trained skills. No negative effects of the distracters were observed on the score of individuals with ASD. The proposed VR4VR system was found by professional job trainers to provide effective vocational training for individuals with ASD. The system turned out to be promising in terms of providing an alternative practical training tool for individuals with ASD.

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In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has been become a popular training tool for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Although VR was proven to be a promising tool for individuals with ASD, effects of VR properties or attributes of user interfaces designed for VR on user experience is still an unexplored area. In this study, we explore effects of five attributes of user interfaces designed for VR on user experience of high-functioning individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD): instruction methods, visual fidelity, view zoom, clutter, and motion. Our motivation is to give positive contribution to the design of future VR training applications for individuals with ASD so that more benefits can be gained. Three VR experiences were designed and implemented, and a user study was performed with 15 high-functioning individuals with ASD and 15 neurotypical individuals as the control group. Results indicated that using animated instructions and avoiding verbal instructions, using low visual fidelity and normal view zoom, and using no clutter and no motion in VR warehouse training applications targeting individuals with HFASD are good design practices.

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