Measuring the Behavioral Response to Spatial Audio within a Multi-Modal Virtual Reality Environment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) has been an active area of research in the development of interactive interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for over two decades. These immersive environments create a safe platform in which therapy can address the core symptoms associated with this condition. Recent advancements in spatial audio rendering techniques for VR now allow for the creation of realistic audio environments that accurately match their visual counterparts. However, reported auditory processing impairments associated with autism may affect how an individual interacts with their virtual therapy application. This study aims to investigate if these difficulties in processing audio information would directly impact how individuals with autism interact with a presented virtual spatial audio environment. Two experiments were conducted with participants diagnosed with ASD (n = 29) that compared: (1) behavioral reaction between spatialized and non-spatialized audio; and (2) the effect of background noise on participant interaction. Participants listening to binaural-based spatial audio showed higher spatial attention towards target auditory events. In addition, the amount of competing background audio was reported to influence spatial attention and interaction. These findings suggest that despite associated sensory processing difficulties, those with ASD can correctly decode the auditory cues simulated in current spatial audio rendering techniques.

Framework for the Development of Affective and Smart Manufacturing Systems Using Sensorised Surrogate Models

“…(3) products to accomplish daily routines and activities [73]; (4) products that enable cooperative actions to be imitated [74]; (5) objects that constitute a circuit of activities and that include multisensory stimulation [75]; (6) objects to develop aquatic activities [76]; and (7) virtual reality [77], digitalization, virtual stimulation, robots and humanoids, tablets, digital systems, and information and communication technologies (ICTs), among many others [78,79]. Previous work indicates that there is potential for research into the configuration and implementation of work systems and occupational environments in the adult lifecycle phase of individuals with ASD [80].…”

“…The majority of research conducted on products and environments that are adapted to individuals with ASD have focused on children and on intervention therapies using products that improve the heterogeneous group of autistic symptoms [ 70 ]. Various research studies into therapies and techniques for the improvement of social behavior have been considered, such us (1) products present in daily life [ 71 ]; (2) toys with several different parts and actions that include adult participation by incorporating sound effects [ 72 ]; (3) products to accomplish daily routines and activities [ 73 ]; (4) products that enable cooperative actions to be imitated [ 74 ]; (5) objects that constitute a circuit of activities and that include multisensory stimulation [ 75 ]; (6) objects to develop aquatic activities [ 76 ]; and (7) virtual reality [ 77 ], digitalization, virtual stimulation, robots and humanoids, tablets, digital systems, and information and communication technologies (ICTs), among many others [ 78 , 79 ]. Previous work indicates that there is potential for research into the configuration and implementation of work systems and occupational environments in the adult lifecycle phase of individuals with ASD [ 80 ].…”

Perception and Motion in Real and Virtual Environments: A Narrative Review of Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Together with the interest in addressing sensorimotor processing in people with ASD, only in the past decade have researchers begun to investigate how individuals with ASD perceive through HMDs. For instance, children and adolescents with ASD seem to benefit from binaural spatialized audio when exploring virtual environments with HMDs ( Johnston et al, 2019 ). On the other hand, some evidence suggests that adults with ASD compared to controls are less susceptible to the full body illusion in IVR, not demonstrating the embodiment in a VB ( Mul et al, 2019 ).…”

A Predictive Multimodal Framework to Alert Caregivers of Problem Behaviors for Children with ASD (PreMAC)

“…These and other existing studies demonstrate the potential of affective computing for children with ASD. With the advancement of low-cost robust sensors and computational frameworks it has become possible to create data-driven inference systems that are both accessible and affordable [ 29 ]. In general, multimodal systems that integrate several modalities, capture more information and hence increase the accuracy and robustness of machine learning models [ 30 ].…”