Virtual Reality to Treat Autism, Research Proposal Example

Introduction

The purpose of this proposal is to use virtual reality to treat autism so more and more kids can have a chance to live without it in their lives, kids will be able to live free of autism. Falcon [5] has argued that kids who live with autism do not have a way to express themselves which can leave them feeling left out and unwanted by social groups. A little background about why I am proposing a solution I have about the autism problem in kids and how to combat it, autism is one of the most uncomfortable things a child ever has to live with. Every week, a child encounters a problem that they cannot get help for because they cannot get a hold of people or get anyone who cares enough to do anything about it. Let it be known that autism opens the doors to other avenues such as Asperger’s Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and many, many more. These are the things that children born with autism dread as they are growing up. Strickland, McAllister and Osborne [6]have argued that there are several alternatives in places in order to better help kids deal with autism and in doing so, they will live lives of greatness and freedom from the disease.

The Solution

The problem is pretty clear and plain to see, but there is a solution that I know many can definitely get behind. Virtual Reality training can, and have aided in treating autism so the children suffering from it did not have to go through life without trying to being able to express themselves. My solution to this problem is this, each child that has autism should be put in front of a virtual reality game so they can get a chance to live their life in the virtual world which would help them live in the human world.

Case in point, Millicent is a 7-year-old girl who was born with autism and she has always had trouble in her life. Millicent just stares blankly at people around her which makes people wonder what she is thinking, she is very much feared for a 7-year-old because of her unpredictability. Millicent’s mother sees this and talks to a friend of hers who is one of the scientific minds behind virtual reality, this gives Millicent’s mother an idea. She brings a virtual reality simulator home for Millicent to use, Millicent starts using it. She starts developing her speech, expressing herself, creating her own avatar in the aspect of interaction which has helped her social communication skills a great deal; Virtual reality is the end of living with autism. Hughes [7] argues that virtual reality is more than just a video game that kids can play for their amusement, it is a way for children to open doors in their brain that was previously closed to them because of their brain defect.

The solution is this, every time a child with autism has a problem with either their communication or motor skills then bring them into the Virtual Reality center. This center is ran by the most brilliant scientific minds of their generation, these scientists will connect the child to a virtual reality monitor. The scientists that are monitoring the child will be able to adjust the virtual reality game so the child will be able to work on the part of them that they are having trouble with, if it is social interaction then the child can create an avatar that they will be able to have a conversation with.

VR works in the present day, the statistics say everything

As proof of the effectiveness of the VR program, 100 autistic children were chosen as VR test subjects. After a few hours, 20% of the autistic children between the ages of 7-11 showed signs of improved communication, they were able to talk in a complete sentence as well as being able to voice when they wanted something. Wang and Reid [8] argue that other conventional means have a 5-10% chance of working because different children demand different methods of breaking the autistic code. 80% of all of the tested autistic children were able to fully able to put their experience of the VR training into words, they each were able to tell the scientists how they felt about the experience. Sadly, 11% of the autistic children between the ages of 4-6 were a little behind everyone else which required additional testing for them. The VR program have been called the cure of autism in children from ages 6-17, the number of children to date is a little below 10,000 but the number is climbing day by day; there is another VR program that helps children to be able to do things such as cross the street on their own.

Conclusion

VR programs that have helped millions of autistic children worldwide, and it has helped them to conquer autism. Parents who have children who are bereft of knowing how to behave and order things in a restaurant, there is a virtual reality program that allows kids to be put into a restaurant setting so they can learn how to do everything. These VR programs are very effective at teaching autistic children how to do things that would take them several years to do on their own, another benefit to these VR games is that it is fun for the children and the child will be able to go their own pace while learning. Incidentally, VR games have been created for the sole purpose of teaching autistic children how to do everything from using a fork with their bare hands to being able to cross the streets independently. As everyone well knows, getting a job can be a real challenge and practicing for the interview can be an even bigger challenge. There are definitely VR games that help young autistic adults practice and get ready for job interviews that will guarantee them the job that they want, regular people have regular problems with interviews but autistic children have it the worst.

Works Cited

Strickland, Dorothy, David McAllister, and Susan Osborne. “An Evolution of Virtual Reality Training Designs for Children With Autism and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.” Topics in Language Disorders. 1 July 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804985/>.

Hughes, Virginia. “Virtual Games Teach Real-world Skills to Kids with Autism.” SFARI-Simon Foundation Autism Research Intiative. Simons Foundation, 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2009/virtual-games-teach-real-world-skills-to-kids-with-autism>.

Falcon, Melanie. “Virtual Reality Treatment for Autism.” Health Beat. 69 News, 30 July 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.wfmz.com/lifestyle/Health-Beat/health-beat-virtual-reality-treatment-for-autism/21220596>.

Reid, Denise, and Michelle Wang. “Using the Virtual Reality-Cognitive Rehabilitation Approach to Improve Contextual Processing in Children with Autism.” The Scientific World Journal. Hidawi Publishing Corporation, n.d. Web. 9 Nov 2014. <http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2013/716890/>.