Virtual Reality Games as an Intervention for Children: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose: This pilot study explored the use of virtual reality-based games as an enjoyable yet effective intervention to improve skills in children with developmental disabilities. Although the intervention was primarily targeted at the enhancement of motor skills, the children’s communication, cognitive and social/emotional skills were also monitored and changes, if any, were tracked during this period.Methods: Therapists guided 5 children (4 boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 1 girl with Learning Disability) while they played carefully chosen games on the Xbox-Kinect, in individual sessions. Each child attended between 4 and 6 sessions over a span of one month. Therapists used a 4-point rating scale to evaluate specific skills in each of the four domains (motor, communication, cognitive and social/emotional) at the beginning of the intervention, and again at the end.Results: Pre-and post-intervention scores revealed that the children made significant progress, not only in certain motor skills but also in skills from the cognitive and social/emotional domains. None of the children regressed in any of the skills monitored from the different domains.Conclusions: Initial findings indicate that virtual reality games provide a useful platform for building interventions for children with developmental disabilities. There is much scope for future research in this area. The results of the study provide insights into the skills which might require prolonged, consistent inputs during the intervention, and the ones which might be acquired quickly through leaps in learning. The different ways in which children with varied developmental profiles might benefit from virtual reality-based interventions were also highlighted.

A Demonstration Project for the Utility of Kinect-Based Educational Games to Benefit Motor Skills of Children with ASD

“…A post hoc power analysis showed very large effect sizes and thus large power for DASH-2 measurements in the small experimental group. Similar results of a positive influence of educational games on motor skills in participants with ASD were previously presented by Muneer, Saxena, and Karanth (2015) over one month of playing Kinect games, also involving five students with ASD. As sessions were held, participants completed the educational games in shorter times, indicating that they became more skilled in choosing and combining strategies for completing the task during these game-playing training sessions.…”

“…A post hoc power analysis showed very large effect sizes and thus large power for DASH-2 measurements in the small experimental group. Similar results of a positive influence of educational games on motor skills in participants with ASD were previously presented by Muneer, Saxena, and Karanth (2015) over one month of playing Kinect games, also involving five students with ASD.…”

A Systematic Review of Social Maintenance Behavior Outcomes of Interactive Social Interventions for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…The total sample of the four studies that evaluated motor imitation comprised 61 participants (47 male) aged between 3 and 13 years (Ganz et al, 2008; Muneer et al, 2015; Schwartz et al, 2004; Stephens, 2008); with the majority of these participants coming from one study of 48 children (Schwartz et al, 2004). Three of the samples, including Schwartz et al (2004), included participants with a diagnosis of an ASD (Ganz et al, 2008; Muneer et al, 2015), one of which included one participant who did not have a diagnosis of ASD but instead was described as having a learning disability (Muneer et al, 2015). This sample is included as the majority of these participants had received a diagnosis of an ASD.…”

“…One article specified that the motor imitation measured was based on object-action (Ganz et al, 2008). Three articles reported imitation based on the frequency of this behavior: Two articles reported the frequency of motor imitation (Ganz et al, 2008; Stephens, 2008), and one article reported the frequency of motor imitation with consideration to consistency and reduced reliance on prompts (Muneer et al, 2015). Schwartz et al (2004) reported the percentage of participants who presented motor imitation.…”

“…One study reported an increase in the percentage of participants who performed motor imitation (Schwartz et al, 2004). The study which reported no change in motor imitation, which scored the consistency of motor imitation and reduced reliance on prompts, did not target motor imitation directly within the intervention or provide reinforcement (Muneer et al, 2015). This study did however report an increase in motor skills, which suggests that motor imitation is not automatically increased with increased motor skill.…”