title: Development of symbolic play through the use of virtual reality tools in children with autistic spectrum disorders: two case studies.
abstract: Difficulties in understanding symbolism have been documented as characteristic of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). In general, virtual reality (VR) environments offer a set of potential advantages for educational intervention in ASD. In particular, VR offers the advantage, for teaching pretend play and for understanding imagination, of it being possible to show these imaginary transformations explicitly. This article reports two case studies of children with autism (aged 8:6 and 15:7, both male), examining the effectiveness of using a VR tool specifically designed to work on teaching understanding of pretend play. The results, confirmed by independent observers, showed a significant advance in pretend play abilities after the intervention period in both participants, and a high degree of generalization of the acquired teaching in one of them.
authors.affiliation: Universitat de Valencia Estudi General, Spain.
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alcantud
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blanquer
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Labajo
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Pablo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings / Q000523:psychology*; D013561:Symbolism; D014584:User-Computer Interface