Abstract
With the current rise in autism diagnoses and the resultant strain on mental health services, it has become increasingly necessary to consider anxiety management techniques for autistic adults that are not reliant on a large amount of resources, both financial and physical. Furthermore, the current increase in availability of virtual reality headsets on the commercial market brings increased interest in applications for virtual reality for purposes beyond gaming.
Previous success has been shown by other researchers in the use of virtual reality sensory rooms to reduce anxiety in patients of residential facilities, however these studies were not solely focussed on autism, and focussed on those in a residential setting. As such, it was deemed important to focus on autistic participants and examine the effectiveness of such a program for autistic adults who are not in the position to require residential care facilities. Therefore this work aims to explore the effectiveness of an emulated sensory room in virtual reality by examining the STAI data and heart rate data of a 29 person study.
Previous success has been shown by other researchers in the use of virtual reality sensory rooms to reduce anxiety in patients of residential facilities, however these studies were not solely focussed on autism, and focussed on those in a residential setting. As such, it was deemed important to focus on autistic participants and examine the effectiveness of such a program for autistic adults who are not in the position to require residential care facilities. Therefore this work aims to explore the effectiveness of an emulated sensory room in virtual reality by examining the STAI data and heart rate data of a 29 person study.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies (IHIET 2025) |
| Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Human Interaction & Emerging Technologies (IHET 2025) August 25-27, 2025, University of Vienna, Austria |
| Editors | Tareq Z. Ahram, Renate Motschnig |
| Publisher | Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE) International |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Volume | 197 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781964867731 |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 17 Jun 2025 |
| Event | 15th International Conference on Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies - University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria Duration: 25 Aug 2025 → 27 Aug 2025 |
Publication series
| Name | Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human Centred Computing |
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| Publisher | AHFE International |
| Volume | 197 |
Conference
| Conference | 15th International Conference on Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies |
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| Abbreviated title | IHIET 2025 |
| Country/Territory | Austria |
| City | Vienna |
| Period | 25/08/25 → 27/08/25 |
