Autism VR – Social Inclusion of People With Autism Spectrum Syndrome Through Virtual Reality

Autism VR is a project that deals with the social inclusion and employment of people with ASD. People with ASD experience persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction. The lack of social skills makes it difficult for them to navigate standard everyday situations as well as having a job. Thus, they often experience social exclusion. This project will develop VR tools that through simulated everyday situations will train and enhance the social skills of adults with ASD and improve their ability to navigate standard situations. The innovative part of the project is that the VR toolkit will be developed by people with ASD, which means that the tools will be made by those who will also use them for training. It will also develop a Handbook to help potential employers deal with people with ASD. It will also showcase good practices along this field. A multi-skilled partnership composed by organizations active in the field of digital-based technologies, social, labor market integration, and special educational needs, will develop a VRtraining toolkit for people with ASD with the purpose of rehabilitation and training of social skills. Furthermore, potential employers will be informed about the advantages of hiring a person with ASD.

These activities aim to increase the target group’s ability to cope with both normal every day and work-related situations. At the same time, the project should contribute to sensitizing employers and, through targeted information, to awakening their interest in employing people with autism in an appropriately designed work environment and climate. In this way, the project should promote the social integration and employment opportunities of the target group

Further information

• EPALE article Autism and VR: When everyday life is a particular challenge. Experience and lessons learned from an Erasmus+ project developing virtual training environments for people from the autistic spectrum
• EPALE interview What can virtual reality offer that real reality cannot? The view of a VR expert on virtual worlds in (adult) education
• EPALE article ​​​​​​​Autism-VR: Can virtual reality help people with autism?

Download 2. Newsletter (March 2021)

Download 1. Newsletter (February 2020)