Identifying Emotions of Children with Autism during a Virtual Reality Simulation of an Airplane

The purpose of this study is to assess the emotions of children with autism when experiencing virtual reality (VR) simulation in preparing for stressful events such as flight travel. Five autistic children took part in a VR flying simulation, and their emotional responses were recorded before, during, and after the simulation. In this study, the children and their families participated in in-depth interviews and structured observations. Through thematic analysis, the findings revealed that VR technology has the potential to trigger positive emotions and facilitate experiential learning in children with autism. Although the VR simulation delivered an accurate aviation experience, the study underlined the need for more diverse and complicated scenarios. Overall, these findings support the use of VR as a beneficial tool for supporting children with autism, emphasizing the need to add realistic scenarios to optimize their experiences and prepare them for unexpected emotions during their experiences.