It has been shown that the use of virtual learning environments have potential to improve social functioning among individuals with ASD. Many studies have found that children with ASD are able to improve their social skills, understanding of empathy, and decision-making when using an educational program through virtual environment such as a 3D computer game (Rice et al., 2015; Cheng, Chian, Ye & Cheng, 2010; Cheng, Huang, & Yang, 2015; Didehbani et al., 2016; Chung, Han, Shin, & Renshaw, 2016). More specifically, VR-based programs have been found to increase communication skills such as, initiation, greeting, and conversation-ending in children with ASD (Ke & Im, 2013). Previous studies have also shown that using VR systems for improving play skills results in a significant advancement in play abilities, an improvement in collaborative play, and increased frequency and duration of effective social interactions in children with ASD (Herrera et al., 2008; Gal et al., 2016; Ozen, 2015; Bai, Blackwell, & Coulouris, 2015).
Using a virtual environment can also improve emotion recognition and enhance empathy with others in individuals with ASD. Previous studies have illustrated that the use of a human-like avatar (i.e., characters on the screen) in a virtual-learning-environment can help individuals with ASD to better recognize emotions and respond to them appropriately (Moore et al., 2005; Chen, Lee, & Lin 2015; Kim et al., 2015). Researchers have also observed that using video modelling in a VR environment can help children with ASD to maintain their attention while simultaneously helping them to understand facial expressions and emotions (Chen, Lee, & Lin, 2016).