Background: The current study investigated the efficacy of a novel virtual reality-cognitive rehabilitation (VR-CR) intervention to improve contextual processing of objects in children with autism. Contextual processing is a cognitive ability thought to underlie the social and communication deficits of autism. Previous research supports that children with autism show deficits in contextual processing, as well as deficits in its basic component abilities: abstraction and cognitive flexibility. Methods: Four children with autism participated in a multiple baseline single-subject study. The children were taught how to see objects in context by reinforcing attention to pivotal contextual information. One-on-one teaching sessions occurred three times per week for approximately two weeks. Results: All children demonstrated significant improvements in contextual processing and cognitive flexibility. Mixed results were found on the control test. Changes in context-related behaviours were reported. Conclusions: Further studies using virtual reality to target specific cognitive impairments in children with autism are warranted.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/25506 |
| Date | 30 December 2010 |
| Creators | Wang, Michelle Jai-Chin |
| Contributors | Reid, Denise |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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