Teen and young adult VR social program

A new type of social group that reduces the exhaustion of typical social skill programs and focuses on the authenticity behind autistic friendship, relationships, and communication

Autistic teens express a desire to find people they identify with, just like non-autistic teens, but they find it harder to make and maintain face to face connections. They also express an increased sense of loneliness compared to their non-autistic peers, but due to difficulties in normative socialising, they become more reclusive as they mature and find it harder to “get out and socialise”.

Autistic teens find that many of their online relationships have a much higher value than their face to face relationships, this is where a VR social group comes in. VR creates a low demand, task oriented social activity that can be done in their own home.

VR is a fully immersive environment and reduces the cognitive load socialising face to face produces. It helps the user be fully present in the moment and can help to reduce the anxiety face to face activities can produce. It helps to connect a fun activity with being social, increasing the likelihood of participation.

Our program focuses on cooperative and collaborative style games as well as games that require a lot of physical movement. These types of games help to develop comradery and form new friendships.