Virtual Immersive Social Training for Children with Autism

社交和沟通方面的挑战困扰着英国数十万自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者及其数百万家庭成员和照顾者的生活。ASD是一种发育障碍，它影响一个人与其他人和周围世界的沟通和联系方式。社交和沟通技能（SCS）培训对于ASD患者来说是必要的，应该尽早开始以取得效果。培训书籍很好，但它们在纸上很抽象，用户很难参与。由专业从业人员进行面对面的社会培训是有效的。然而，它可能是昂贵的，由于资源有限而延迟，有时甚至由于物流而不可用。我们正在努力通过开发Autsera（一种虚拟现实（VR）培训工具）来填补SCS提供方面的差距，为ASD儿童提供SCS培训，成本仅为有效社会培训解决方案的一小部分。我们产品的可负担性将使地方当局和护理人员能够更早、更有效、更频繁地提供SCS培训。这可以对自闭症患者的生活质量、心理健康和就业机会、他们的家庭和照顾者的生活质量以及短期和长期的经济负担产生变革性影响。

Social and communication challenges blight the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the UK and millions of their family members and carers. ASD is a developmental disorder which affects the way a person communicates with and relates to other people and the world around them. Social and Communication Skills (SCS) training is a necessity for individuals with ASD and should start as early as possible to be effective.Training books are good, but they are abstract on paper and can be difficult for users to engage with. Face to face social training by professional practitioners is effective. However, it can be costly, delayed due to limited resources, and sometimes even unavailable because of logistics.We are working to fill the gap in SCS provision by developing Autsera, a Virtual Reality (VR) training tool, providing SCS training for children with ASD at a fraction of the cost of effective social training solutions. The affordability of our product will allow both local authorities and carers to provide SCS training at an earlier age, more effectively, and more frequently. This can have a transformative effect on the quality of life, on mental health and job opportunities for people with autism, on the quality of life of their families and carers, and on the financial burdens on the economy in the short-term and long-term.