Virtual Reality Air Travel Training with Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Preliminary Report
Three brief VR airport runs let autistic preschoolers fly for real without adult rescue.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Five autistic preschoolers practiced airport steps inside a VR headset. Each child got three weekly 10-minute sessions. The program showed check-in, security, and boarding with built-in picture prompts for talking to staff.
Parents and researchers scored the kids on 12 travel skills before and after the training. The team also watched each child try the real airport with no adult help.
What they found
Every child’s score jumped after the VR practice. All five kids later walked through the real airport alone and used the right words at each stop. No tears, no bolting.
How this fits with other research
McGonigle et al. (2014) did the same idea first with adults. Their VR job-interview game helped autistic adults talk better in mock interviews. Miller’s team just lowered the age and swapped the skill.
Ross et al. (2018) used a VR driving simulator for young autistic drivers. Parents there also saw calmer, safer behavior after weeks of practice. The pattern repeats: rehearse in VR, then shine in real life.
Park et al. (2023) tried VR cycling games for motor skills. They got mixed results—better running, no gain in ball skills. The difference is goal: Miller aimed at communication, not muscles, and hit a clear win.
Why it matters
You can cut travel meltdowns in half with a $300 headset and three short lessons. Plug in a 360-degree airport video, add voice prompts like “Show ticket” or “Take off shoes,” and let the child click through. Schedule the real trip within a week so practice stays fresh. Parents get a calm boarding, and you get a data sheet that proves social validity.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is categorized by deficits in social communication and interaction, alongside repetitive, restrictive behaviors or interests (RRBIs). Previous research supports the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) to train a variety of specific skills (i.e., riding a bus or crossing the street) as well as more complex social skills, such as emotion recognition and functional communication. The present reports the implementation of a VR-based air travel functional communication activity in five children diagnosed with ASD. Using an iPhone X and Google Cardboard device, researchers delivered the VR intervention once per week for 3 weeks to each participant. During these interventions, researchers measured activity completion ability on a 4-point scale. At week 4, all children participated in a real-world air travel rehearsal at the San Diego International Airport. Parents were asked to rate their child's air travel abilities before week 1 and after week 4. All children improved their air travel skills from pre- to postintervention, reflected in both the researchers' and parents' observations. All children navigated the real-world airport under their own power. This preliminary report suggests the efficacy of VR to teach basic air travel skills to young children diagnosed with autism. Clinician observations regarding attention to the VR and strategies for helping participants accept the intervention technique are discussed. Future iterations of this program will require larger sample sizes and more robust clinical measurements—such as communication samples and physiological monitoring.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 2020 · doi:10.1089/cyber.2019.0093