A  aim of this project is to provide interventions for individuals diagnosed with ASD. We will examine and validate the outcomes of applying virtual reality (VR) to provide behavioral intervention services. We will provide assistance for children with ASD to be exposed to different VR environments than that which matches their daily lives activities and apply interventions. Children will have opportunities to practice life skills such as crossing the street and practice and learn the steps to do so successfully in a therapeutic environment. Furthermore, the study aims to validate measurements of eye-tracking in VR and examine differences in fixation durations and counts on specific items presented in VR.

We hypothesize that a behavioral intervention presented to children with autism spectrum disorder will lead to improvements in their ability to safely participate in activities of daily life. Moreover, we hypothesize that training in VR will lead to changes in how visual attention is distributed to important items within the VR environments.