Virtual Reality and People with Neurodevelopmental Disorders
摘要
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, have their onset in the early period of development. People with these diagnoses show deficits in functioning in the areas of everyday life. The deficits presented by people diagnosed with NDD range from very specific limitations in learning or executive function control to global impairment of social skills or global intellectual functioning. Given the heterogeneity of clinical conditions, a range of treatment options is required, including personalized and in some cases multimodal approaches. This entry has two aims: (1) to provide an overview of the most recent findings concerning the applications of virtual reality to improve social skills, adaptive behavior, motor control, and learning processes and (2) to summarize some studies, attempting to offer an organic view of the topic. Interventions mediated by virtual reality technologies have been demonstrated to be efficacious in providing support to people with NDD, complementing classical treatments and enabling the structuring of person-centered programs. The aim of this entry is to overcome the limitations of traditional interventions and to provide innovative clinical practices that can be effective in reducing symptoms and enhancing quality of life. Finally, the discussion addresses current limitations and outlines directions for future research.