Can Virtual Reality Pre-exposure to Realistic Workplaces and Interactions Improve Job Placement, Anxiety, and Performance in Transitioning Adults with ASD?
Background: Employment promotes personal dignity and can substantially improve the quality of life and likelihood of independence in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Unfortunately, the costs of supporting vocational rehabilitative services in the ASD population are substantial, and the need for services is largely unmet. Innovative approaches could empower service providers to better serve individuals with ASD.Objective: We propose to investigate factors promoting success in key transitions to independence for individuals living with ASD. Through observational research and qualitative interviews of key stakeholders, we will identify factors to enable two proposed technology-based strategies to improve employment outcomes. We will determine in what ways: (i) virtual reality (VR)-based pre-exposure to potential job sites could be utilized to promote appropriate job placement and improve confidence and (ii) a head-mounted two-way video remote job coaching system could be utilized to support on-site job performance, independence, and dignity.Specific Aim 1: Determine what factors are necessary to develop a VR-based workplace exposure intervention to reduce anxiety prior to job placement and promote appropriate job placement. Factors include: (a) potential concerns of employers regarding the proposed intervention; (b) feedback from job coaches regarding job site capture; and (c) which VR experiences will enable persons with ASD to evaluate and explore a job site.Specific Aim 2: Determine what factors are necessary to develop a head-mounted, two-way video coaching system to remotely assist transitioning adults with ASD. Factors include: (a) potential concerns of employers regarding the proposed intervention; (b) feedback from job coaches on how a web-based dashboard for administering remote video coaching should be designed; and (c) feedback and experience of transitioning adults with ASD in utilizing remote video coaching on job sites during a 2-week observational study.Study Design: We will survey a variety of employers to identify one to two major job types for which our proposed interventions are most appropriate. Two to four employers will be selected to participate in the study. Employers will provide feedback through questionnaires to identify factors that would permit our intervention to be feasible and successful. In Aim 1, through a series of prototypes and interviews with job coaches, we will optimize a workflow to capture job sites with two to three technologies. We will evaluate environments captured by job coaches in adults with ASD to determine which method provides the best representation of the work site. In Aim 2, we will develop a web-based dashboard for job coaches to provide remote video coaching to clients. In a 2-week observational study, we will evaluate how the system was utilized in a work site by clients with ASD, and evaluate comfort, ease of use, perceived social stigma, and transfer of knowledge. Stakeholder feedback and observational studies will guide refinement of our software and methods to optimize effectiveness.Impact: While supported employment programs can be successful, the need for services is largely unmet, with adult unemployment rates over 75% in some U.S. states. The studies we have proposed here will develop transformative interventions for promoting the successful transition of adults with ASD to independence. Our proposed strategies could also help better meet the needs of the ASD population in more remote areas, including underserved rural populations. More broadly, these technologies can also be scaled to develop novel educational and interventional strategies to benefit individuals with ASD throughout their lives.Innovation: We are determining affordable and scalable workflows that utilize the latest technological breakthroughs to enable transitioning adults with ASD to evaluate multiple worksites in an immersive way (Aim 1) and receive video coaching remotely and “hands-free” via smartglasses (Aim 2). In evaluating multiple worksites in an immersive way (i.e., through VR), we can provide transitioning adults with ASD an opportunity to explore, learn about, and acclimate to job sites. Remote video coaching may provide a method to promote dignity and independence from job coaches at work locations, while enabling job coaches to serve multiple clients at different work sites, including clients in remote and rural areas.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
