Virtual Reality as a tool for people on the autistic spectrum

With the technological progress over the course of the last years, Virtual Reality became accessible for the mainstream. Its high level of immersion enables the realization of authentic recreations of the real world combined with a physically safe environment. While the use of Virtual Reality in the context of therapies, including the domain of autistic spectrum disorders is well documented and evidenced, the current sparse supply of actual applications for people on the autistic spectrum indicates the necessity of further development. To approach this topic, previous findings about the usage of Virtual Reality in therapies, as well as technical aspects of this matter are collected and combined to eventually outline the concept of a new application, which focuses on atypical sensory processing, a key deficit witnessed by the majority of people with an autistic spectrum disorder. The core of this work is the implementation of a prototype in order to demonstrate the challenges and possibilities of Virtual Reality for this task. The achieved result can be considered the basis for further research and development with the goal in mind to improve the daily life of people on the autistic spectrum via Virtual Reality.