Research on the improvement of daily living skills of children with autism in virtual campus environments

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of daily living skills intervention training for children with autism in a virtual campus setting. First, six children with autism (age M = 10.50, SD = 2.22) participated in a 4-week experiment totaling 8.4 h. The effectiveness of the virtual school environment and the daily living skills intervention were used as indicators during data collection and processing. In addition, a series of 3D environments based on daily life were constructed using SketchUp Pro 2021, which were converted to virtual environments using Unreal Engine 4. The HTC Vive external headset facilitated intervention training for children with autism. Most importantly, the results demonstrated the effectiveness of interactive domains such as grabbing bread in a cafeteria environment, making a phone call in front of a school, and switching lights and picking up a book in a library environment, where participants showed significantly higher levels of performance (p < 0.05). Scores on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) for children with autism (M = 19.33, SD = 4.18) were lower than baseline values (M = 22.83, SD = 4.79), while scores on the Social Skills Questionnaire (SSQ) (M = 26.17, SD = 3.97) were higher than baseline values (M = 20.00, SD = 2.28), suggesting that the overall social effectiveness of the participants following the intervention improved (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the statistical analysis showed that participants who received the intervention had significantly improved daily living skills such as grabbing bread, making phone calls, changing lights, and picking up books.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-08224-7.

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with an incidence rate of approximately 1 in 68, are seeing a rising number of children affected. Researchers have found that children with autism exhibit core deficits such as social communication impairments¹, repetitive stereotyped behaviors, and narrow interests. They also face difficulties recognizing variable social cues during interactions. Some children with autism with milder symptoms can speak, read and write, but the vast majority cannot live independently and require parental care or companionship. Their daily functioning² is poorer compared to their non-autistic peers, requiring parental supervision that consumes significant energy. Consequently³, the lack of independent living skills hinders children with autism from adapting to social environments. In response to various social deficits exhibited by children with autism⁴, many studies propose that training interventions for daily living skills are crucial.

Despite the growing body of empirical research and reviews on methods of daily living skills interventions for children with autism, there is a weakness in matching skill needs and environments to build appropriate designs for efficient, safe, and healthy environments for children with autism. Karenl Pierce et al. utilized visual strategies by designing individualized goal tasks and using picture card prompts to facilitate the acquisition, maintenance⁵, and generalization of daily living skills in participants. Swaggart et al. combined life skills training for three children with autism with the social story method⁶, resulting in enhanced daily living skills among the participants. Taryadi employed a strategy of video modeling contrasted⁷ with live prompts and picture card prompts to intervene in and train daily living skills in children with autism. These methods and strategies currently rely heavily on singular teaching materials, such as using picture words or monochromatic stimuli to prompt children with autism to perform specific tasks in particular environments, or employing visual information exchange to help them understand specific life skills (e.g., teaching them how to change clothes, use the restroom, etc.). Traditional skill interventions require significant human and material resources, and many children with autism do not have access to professional care and convenient facilities⁸, necessitating the development of new effective intervention tools.

In recent years, a large group of experts and scholars have been committed to using virtual reality environments to target skill-based interventions for people with autism, so that children with autism can gradually improve their abilities through immersive forms of experience⁹, and the rapid development of virtual reality (VR) technology has brought new insights into interventions for children with autism. Using virtual reality for interventions has emerged as a prominent and resource-efficient method, offering advantages such as rich presentation modes, predictable control, and repeatable training. Additionally, virtual reality can transform real environments into highly realistic digital environments resembling sight, sound, and touch¹⁰, thus improving safety and convenience compared to traditional settings. Charitos and Karadanos created virtual environments resembling “home” and emphasized that virtual technology can faithfully replicate real environments, making many skills applicable across various settings such as home, school, and community. The rapid changes in environments¹¹ highlight VR as an effective tool for promoting interventions. Researchers developed a training program, such as one on fire and tornado safety education, demonstrating how virtual campus environments facilitate children in applying life skills to real-life scenarios, thus providing a theoretical basis for interventions in virtual environments. Based on the above discussion, this study approaches from the perspective of environmental design¹² to develop appropriate and valuable virtual environments tailored for children with autism.

In designing virtual environments¹³, considerations from the perspectives of participant adaptation and environmental aesthetics led this experiment to choose a virtual campus setting. This setting simulates real social environments¹⁴, allowing children with autism to explore and learn freely without concerns about social pressures or anxiety they might encounter in a real school environment. Virtual environments can be programmed to give participants more time to process events occurring in the virtual campus environment¹⁵, which is beneficial for children with autism who have difficulties in social perception. As early as 1996, Strickland proposed using virtual technology as a new means of therapy and intervention for children with autism, with much research focusing on using virtual environments to train life skills for children with autism. Therefore, we aim to address the limitations of traditional intervention methods by training life skills in a virtual campus environment. Virtual environments can provide detailed learning records and assessment data. By collecting and analyzing behavioral data, learning outcomes, and other information from children with autism in virtual environments¹⁶, we can understand the effectiveness of interventions for each child¹⁷, enabling timely adjustments to intervention strategies and providing more targeted support. Moreover, virtual environments are innovative and can be widely applied in training life skills for children with autism, enabling them to make appropriate decisions in various situations more intuitively and flexibly. The virtual campus space allows children with autism to experience an immersive environment and train their skills in a comfortable state, which has the advantage of being safe, efficient and repeatable compared to traditional campus spaces. The above studies indicate that the effects generated in virtual campus environments can closely approximate real-life experiences, and conducting reasonable skill training¹⁸ in these environments has shown high effectiveness, laying a foundation for further exploration of the effectiveness of interventions for improving life skills in children with autism in virtual campus environments.

To ensure the feasibility of experimental data collection, literature review found¹⁹ that Vicky and colleagues collected and analyzed data from 3 participants to compare and analyze their visual attention to relevant or irrelevant social stimuli. The Internet and Multimedia Innovation Application Center at City University²⁰ of Hong Kong conducted a virtual reality-based training program for 3–4 children with autism, further establishing the feasibility of small-sample experiments. Based on the above discussion, this study designed and implemented four virtual campus environments using virtual technology to conduct intervention training on seven life skills for 6 children aged 8–14 with autism. Due to the specificity of children with autism and the complexity of the experiment, the study used the Autism Behavioral Scale (ABC) to conduct a pre-experimental screening of 30 recruited children with autism, and finally identified six participants for the experiment, which was designed to test whether the virtual campus environment could effectively enhance the relevant abilities. The study was designed based on the preference factors, with virtual campus environments that correspond to life skills constructed before the experiment. All procedures during the experiment were documented for data collection and analysis purposes. Following the experiment²¹, the effectiveness of the environments was assessed using SCQ and SSQ. The immersion level of the virtual environments²² was evaluated using the Presence Questionnaire (PQ). The experimental results demonstrate that this study, integrating virtual technology, focuses on improving daily living skills in children with autism. The findings indicate that virtual technology as a novel approach has positive effects on interventions for children with autism²³, laying a theoretical foundation for further exploration into interventions aimed at improving life skills in children with autism within virtual environments.

Methods of research

Subjects and tools

In order to ensure the accuracy of the data in this study, the subjects of the research experiment on children with autism were hospital-diagnosed autistic patients with further screening such as IQ, motor neurological deficits, etc., and all the experimental children were between the ages of 4–16 years old and the number of the experimental children was at least three. Experimental participants were selected from 30 children with autism recruited from a special education institution in Wuhan. Ultimately, 6 children with autism were chosen as research subjects, as detailed in Table 1. Participant selection criteria included: (1) Diagnosis of autism based on the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scoring, with the ability to speak and read. (2) Exclusion of children with visual, auditory, or motor impairments that hinder free interaction. (3) Children who are able to participate in rehabilitation interventions²⁴ using virtual reality technology and do not experience vertigo discomfort in virtual space. Researchers clearly communicated to guardians of children participating in this study that all methods were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations, explained the experimental rationale, and confirmed that informed consent was obtained from all subjects and/or their legal guardians. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethic Institutional Review Board of Wuhan Polytechnic University (protocol code BME-2024-1-22 and date of approval 14 September 2024).

Table 1.

Basic data on the subjects.

Participant (in a clinical trial etc.)	Distinguishing between the sexes	(A Person’s) age	ABC score	Main obstacles manifested
Subject 1	Male	14	102	Stereotypical actions, such as choosing to repeat a certain behaviour
Subject 2	Male	13	99	Social impairment, inability to have comfortable Language communication
Subject 3	Male	9	96	Unable to read eye signals or body language
Subject 4	Male	10	110	Repetition of the same actions, words, objects, or behaviours
Subject 5	Male	9	135	Unwilling to collaborate on activities or games
Subject 6	Male	8	97	Excessively perceptive or tardy in reacting to sensory inputs

Experimental equipment: (1) VIVE PRO EYE, the device contains a head-mounted display, joystick, laser localizer and streaming box, where the resolution binocular: 2880 × 1600 monocular: 1440 × 1600; refresh rate 90fps; tracking position: 4.5*4.5 m; localizer × 2; somatosensory controller × 2; (2)outfitted with a cell phone camera to record research activities in video;

Survey scale

The ABC Autism Rating Scale, SSQ, SCQ, and Practice Interaction Success Frequency Scale are the questionnaire scales used in the experiments of this research, as indicated in Table 2.

Table 2.

Fundamental data regarding the questionnaire scales.

The questionnaire’s name	Thrust	Marking scheme
ABC Autism Rating Scale	4 dimensions such as social skills	Higher ratings correspond to more severe symptoms
Social Skills Questionnaire (SSQ)	There are two versions for parents and instructors	The higher the total score, the better the skill set
Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ)	Contains 40 questions	The lower the total score, the better the communication skills
practice interaction success frequency table	Record the percentage correct for the skill	The higher the total score, the better the skill set

The Autism Treatment Evaluation Scale (ATES) evaluates the symptoms of autism, including four dimensions: verbal communication, social skills, cognitive skills and physiology, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. SPENCE S et al. compiled SSQ, which contains 30 evaluation items for children, and each entry is scored as 0 (never), 1(rarely), 2(a few times), 3(often), 4(always), and the higher the summed score, the better the skill mastery. RUTTER M et al. proposed SCQ, which has a scoring rule of 1 (yes) or 0 (no), and the lower the total score, the better, which is helpful in evaluating the communication skills of children with autism. The frequency of success scale of practical interaction was carried out to rate the frequency of the skill and the correctness of the action, which was scored through a 3-point Likert-type scale (0–2), based on the criteria of the subject responding correctly independently (2 points), correctly completing the task with gestural instructions or spoken prompts (1 point), and responding incorrectly or refusing to perform (0 points), and the higher the total score of the skill indicates the better the mastery of the skill over the period of time, i.e., the implementation of the skill frequently and correctly.

Design of a virtual campus setting

Based on the above research, intervention programs for children with autism typically involve the design of virtual environments focused primarily on home, school, and community scenarios, with an emphasis on the use of virtual technology for the design of school environments. In the initial design phase, preferences identified through factor analysis were used as a basis, integrating rich visual and auditory elements to capture the attention of children with autism and enhance their learning motivation. Firstly, a series of everyday school life environments were constructed using SketchUp Pro 2021. These 3D environments were then converted into virtual school environments using the Unreal Engine 4(UE4). Subsequently, interactive blueprints were developed in UE4, incorporating UI text material design and importing WAV-format speech and environmental audio for simultaneous playback. Lastly, virtual software technology such as SteamVR was employed to ensure the environment’s fidelity on VR devices.

As shown in Fig. 1, the life skills environment encompasses various game-and design-oriented tasks situated within a virtual campus environment, including locations such as the cafeteria, library, school entrance, and aquarium. These tasks are part of life skills interventions conducted within these virtual school environments, focusing on seven skills: bread grabbing, door openinglight switching, book fetching, school entry card swiping, telephone use, and QR code ticket scanning.

Fig. 1.

Design of a virtual campus setting.

The virtual cafeteria

In this environment, modeled after the daily cafeteria setting for children with autism, the overall ambiance predominantly features a yellow color scheme. Smooth curves or patterned decorations are used to enhance aesthetics, creating a relaxed dining atmosphere for these children. Interactive dialogue UI elements and audio cues such as “Hello, child” and “Please help me grab the bread from the table” are incorporated. The purpose of this environment design is to enhance the life skills of door opening and bread grabbing for children with autism through interactive experiences within the virtual school campus environment.

The virtual library

In this environment, designed after the daily library setting for children with autism, the fundamental principles include openness, fluidity, flexibility, and enjoyment. The overall ambiance primarily adopts a blue color palette, with decorations complementing the library’s thematic design. Cute entertainment dolls or patterned decorations are used to enhance aesthetics, creating a cozy reading atmosphere for the children. Interactive dialogue UI elements and audio prompts such as “Can you help me turn on the starlight lamp?” and “Could you please grab the yellow book from the table?” are integrated. The purpose of this environment design is to enhance the life skills of light switching and book fetching for children with autism through interactive experiences within the virtual school campus environment.

The virtual setting at school entrance

In this environment, designed after the daily school entrance setting for children with autism, the theme revolves around the children’s preference for panda elements. The overall color scheme adopts shades of blue, with small panda-themed playground facilities set up around the entrance and its surroundings, effectively catering to the psychological needs of children with autism. Interactive dialogue UI elements and audio prompts such as “Child, pick up your school card and swipe to enter” and “Hello, child!Pick up the phone and call someone you miss” are incorporated. The purpose of this environment design is to enhance the life skills of school entry card swiping and telephone use for children with autism through interactive experiences within the virtual school campus environment.

The simulated oceanarium

In this environment, designed after the daily aquarium setting for children with autism, it serves as a comprehensive public education venue showcasing marine biodiversity and promoting ocean culture. The aquarium’s architecture features streamlined designs, with an open layout inside that incorporates transparent partitions to introduce natural light, enhancing the environment’s transparency and brightness. Interactive dialogue UI elements and audio prompts such as “Hello, child” and “Pick up your phone and scan to pay for tickets” are utilized. The purpose of this environment design is to enhance the life skill of scanning QR codes for ticket purchases for children with autism through interactive experiences within the virtual school campus environment.

Intervention of daily living skills in a virtual campus environment, corresponding skill operation processes within the virtual campus environment, as detailed in Table 3. Each skill experiment lasts for 2 min, with each 30-s interval as a time unit, recording the frequency and correctness of actions performed for that skill. Based on this, researchers make preliminary assessments of the mastery level of daily living skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. The life skills intervention experiment was carried out on 6 subjects through the above experimental process, and relevant values were collected using the success frequency table of practical interaction, and the value standard was expressed as 0–2.

Table 3.

Operational flow plan for life skills.

Trial flow

Through constructing a virtual campus environment, intervention training in seven life skills was conducted for children with autism. The experiment was carried out in an activity room within a special education institution, maintaining a quiet and undisturbed environment throughout the process. During the preparation phase, one participant, one device operator, one participant guide, and one experiment recorder were required. The manipulator was responsible for controlling the computer program and the VR device to display the virtual campus space in the helmet device, and the facilitator was responsible for guiding the children into the environment and through the entire experiment to ensure the safety of the subjects. The recorder was responsible for recording the data of the whole experiment, such as the questionnaire baseline and the data collection of the intervention phase. The experiment lasted for one month, and the six subjects were given one life skill intervention per week, and the duration of each life skill intervention was 2 min, and all six subjects participated in the experiment completely, with a total duration of 8.4 h. The experiment was conducted for one month, and the duration of each life skill intervention was 8.4 h. The experiment was conducted for one month, and the duration of each life skill intervention was 2 min. Before the experiment: The researchers filled out the ABC autism rating scale based on the participants’ performance and fitted the participants with a virtual reality headset and interactive controllers. During the experiment: The researchers collected both objective and subjective data on the participants’ performance during the virtual reality-based experimental phase, including both objective and subjective measures. After the experiment: The collected data underwent statistical analysis, including calculations of mean values, standard deviations, and other relevant statistical methods, to assess the effectiveness of the intervention training on life skills for children with autism in the virtual campus environment.

Results and discussion

Statistics of experimental results

As shown in Fig. 2, a statistical graph was calculated using the seven life skill scores of 6 subjects. The value on the X coordinate is the life skill training time of 6 subjects (30S is a time unit), and the Y coordinate shows the scores of skills in the corresponding stage in the virtual campus environment, with each subject showing high differences in each specific life skill. Overall, there was a positive trend in grabbing bread, turning on lights, and making phone calls. Subject 1 showed a significant upward trend in grabbing bread and turning on lights. In the intervention of swiping a card to enroll, picking up a book, scanning a code to buy a ticket and making a phone call, the completion rate fluctuated slowly but improved. There was no obvious improvement trend in ticket buying by scanning code. Subject 2 showed a significant improvement in telephone calls. There was a small improvement in the intervention of opening doors and turning on lights. It fluctuates up and down in grabbing bread, taking books, swiping cards to get into school and scanning codes to buy tickets. Subject 3 showed a clear upward trend in picking up books and grabbing bread. There was a consistent trend of improvement in opening doors, turning on lights, swiping cards to school and making phone calls. There was no significant improvement in ticket scanning. Subject 4 showed small improvements in grabbing bread, turning on a light, and making a telephone intervention. There are small and decreasing fluctuations in opening doors and swiping cards to enter schools. Picking up books and scanning tickets only increases volatility slightly. The performance of the whole life skills intervention was weak, and the adaptation to the virtual campus environment and skill training time was longer. There was no significant improvement in buying tickets with books and scanning codes. Subject 6 improved significantly in grabbing bread and swiping card to enter the school. There were small improvements in opening doors, turning on lights, holding books, and telephone intervention. There was a slight improvement in ticket scanning.

Fig. 2.

Performance of subjects in life skills.

The statistical and descriptive analysis of the above data has provided a preliminary summary of the effectiveness of intervention training for children with autism. Subsequently, further calculations of mean and standard deviation were performed on the values of the seven skills before and after intervention. From the baseline assessment to the intervention stages, the average frequency of the subjects successfully completing the target life skills generally increased, as detailed in Table 4. This indicates the necessity of improving life skills as studied in this paper, and also provides a theoretical basis for further assessing the relationship between skill intervention and the virtual campus environment.

Table 4.

The subject’s intervention before and after values.

Participant (in a clinical trial etc.)	Research phase	Snatch Bread M (SD)	Let the door open M (SD)	Switch on the lamp M (SD)	Grab a book M (SD)	Swipe card to enter school M (SD)	Place a cal M (SD)	Purchase tickets with a code scan M (SD)
Subject 1	Base line (in geodetic survey)	1.00 (0.00)	3.00 (0.00)	1.00 (0.00)	1.00 (0.00)	1.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)	0.00 (0.00)
	Interventions	1.50 (0.71)	3.00 (0.00)	2.50 (0.71)	2.50 (0.71)	1.50 (0.71)	2.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)
Subject 2	Base line (in geodetic survey)	0.50 (0.71)	3.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)	1.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)	1.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)
	Interventions	2.50 (0.71)	4.00 (1.41)	3.50 (2.12)	2.50 (0.71)	2.50 (0.71)	3.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)
Subject 3	Base line (in geodetic survey)	1.50 (0.71)	2.00 (0.00)	1.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)
	Interventions	0.50 (0.71)	2.00 (0.00)	2.50 (0.71)	2.00 (1.41)	3.00 (1.41)	2.00 (1.41)	0.50 (0.71)
Subject 4	Base line (in geodetic survey)	0.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)	0.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)
	Interventions	1.50 (0.71)	1.50 (0.71)	3.00 (0.00)	2.00 (1.41)	2.50 (0.71)	2.50 (0.71)	0.50 (0.71)
Subject 5	Base line (in geodetic survey)	2.50 (0.71)	2.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)	0.00 (0.00)	0.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)
	Interventions	2.50 (2.12)	2.50 (0.71)	3.00 (1.41)	1.00 (1.41)	1.50 (0.71)	3.50 (0.71)	0.00 (0.00)
Subject 6	Base line (in geodetic survey)	1.50 (0.71)	2.50 (0.71)	1.50 (0.71)	0.50 (0.71)	1.50 (0.71)	1.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)
	Interventions	3.50 (0.71)	2.50 (0.71)	3.50 (2.12)	3.00 (1.41)	3.50 (0.71)	3.50 (2.12)	1.00 (0.00)

The relationship between the skill intervention effects and the virtual environment was further extrapolated from the perspective of the virtual campus environment. As shown in Fig. 3, through the data and icon visual analysis, it was concluded that the bread grasping area in the cafeteria environment was more enjoyable for children with autism, and the enhancement effect was more obvious than that of the door opening skill area in the environment; the overall intervention effect in the library was improved, and the immersion value of the subjects was relatively higher in the environment, and the sense of experience was more powerful; the telephone call area in the school gate environment was more popular with autistic children, and the improvement effect was more obvious than the card-swiping area for entering the school; the overall effect of the intervention in the oceanarium environment is slower, and the immersion value of the subjects in the environment is relatively lower, so the environment can be further optimized. The study suggests that children with autism have a stronger sense of immersion and a higher degree of enjoyment of the skill intervention in areas where the skill intervention is more effective.

Fig. 3.

Skills space bar diagram.

SPSS26.0 software and Excel 2016 software were used to analyze the data, and the numerical analysis methods were to calculate the mean value, standard deviation, T-value and significance (double-tailed). Paired sample t test is a statistical method used to test whether there are differences in the quantitative data of pairs in paired design experiments, which can effectively obtain T-value and significance (double-tailed). Cohen’s d is a common effect size used to calculate differences between groups, to quantify the degree of association between variables, to compare changes before and after themselves, and to compare differences between groups. In order to further examine the effectiveness of life skills intervention in virtual campus environment for autistic children, paired T-test was performed on experimental data. The results showed that the skills of grabbing bread in the canteen environment, making phone calls in the school gate environment, turning on the light and holding books in the library environment were statistically significant (p < 0.05), as shown in Table 5 for details. In general, the subjects showed significant improvement in life skills such as grabbing bread, making phone calls, turning on lights and holding books, and the intervention training of life skills was effective.

Table 5.

Pairwise t-test value statistics.

Life ability	Base line (in geodetic survey) M (SD)	Interventions M (SD)	Paired t-test t-values and effect sizes
Snatch bread	0.83 (0.58)	3.25 (1.22)	− 10.127 (p < 0.05; Cohen’s d value: − 2.53351)
Let the door open	2.33 (0.89)	2.58 (1.00)	− 2.236 (p > 0.05; Cohen’s d value: − 0.26410)
Switch on the lamp	0.92 (0.51)	3.00 (1.13)	− 10.381 (p < 0.05; Cohen’s d value: − 2.37269)
Grab a book	0.42 (0.51)	2.17 (1.11)	− 8.174 (p < 0.05; Cohen’s d value: − 2.02600)
Swipe card to enter school	0.25 (0.87)	2.00 (1.28)	− 2.447 (p > 0.05; Cohen’s d value: − 0.68532)
Place a call	1.00 (0.43)	2.92 (1.08)	− 8.032 (p < 0.05; Cohen’s d value: − 2.33583)
Purchase tickets with a code scan	0.25 (0.45)	0.67 (0.49)	− 2.076 (p > 0.05; Cohen’s d value: − 0.89281)

Test of social skills

The experimental study showed that, after the intervention, the SCQ scores of the six participants decreased (the lower the score, the better), indicating an improvement in their social communication skills. Additionally, SSQ scores increased (the higher the score, the better), reflecting an improvement in their social abilities, as indicated in Table 6. The SCQ and SSQ questionnaires were used before and after the intervention as a complementary measure of the subjects’ life skills enhancement, i.e., social skills test.

Table 6.

SCQ and SSQ Value Statistics.

Participant (in a clinical trial etc.)	(An official) standard	Base line (in geodetic survey)	Interventions
Subject 1	SCQ (SSQ)	19 (22)	15 (30)
Subject 2	SCQ (SSQ)	18 (17)	16 (23)
Subject 3	SCQ (SSQ)	23 (22)	20 (29)
Subject 4	SCQ (SSQ)	27 (19)	22 (24)
Subject 5	SCQ (SSQ)	30 (18)	26 (21)
Subject 6	SCQ (SSQ)	20 (22)	17 (30)

Table 7 specifically lists the mean, standard deviation, and t-values of SCQ and SSQ. The improvement in SSQ before and after intervention is significantly more pronounced compared to SCQ, as detailed in Table 7. Experimental research has found significant differences due to a p-value less than 0.05. It can be said that the aforementioned environmental intervention has assisted in improving the social abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder²⁵, thereby objectively contributing to facilitating their better integration into society.

Table 7.

Numerical comparison before and after intervention.

step	Baseline M (SD)	Intervention M (SD)	Paired t-test t-value (p-value)
SCQ	22.83 (4.79)	19.33 (4.18)	8.174 (p < 0.05)
SSQ	20.00 (2.28)	26.17 (3.97)	− 7.783 (p < 0.05)

Wrap-up and discussion

This study utilized VR and UE4 to create a virtual campus environment simulating daily life and conducted a design study on life skills intervention training for children with autism:

Virtual technology establishes feasibility for environmental design applications²⁶: Using virtual technology enables children with autism to engage in low-cost and repeatable intervention training within a safe and controlled environment. Virtual technology can simulate real environments, allowing for design and modifications within virtual campus environments, significantly reducing design cycles and enhancing design efficiency. Moreover, virtual technology considers environmental impacts and sustainability during the design phase, thus preventing environmental issues and resource waste in actual construction, thereby promoting the application of sustainable development principles in environmental design. (2)The virtual campus environment can improve the correspondence skills of autistic children: the subjects who received the intervention showed significant improvement in life skills such as grasping bread, talking on the phone, turning on lights and holding books. The virtual campus environment simulates and practices a variety of daily life skills, and this simulation training is not only safe, but can be repeated many times so that children have enough opportunities to practice until they become proficient in these skills. The virtual campus environment promotes contact and interaction²⁷ between children with autism and them, increasing their sense of engagement and improving their corresponding life skills.

It is hoped that long-term retention in real-life scenarios and validation of skill generalization (e.g., migration from virtual space to real-life scenarios) can be included in future studies, such as the addition of longitudinal follow-up studies to observe skill maintenance effects.

Conclusion

Due to time constraints and limitations of the authors’ area of specialization, there are certain problems with the dimensions of pre-study, experimental design, and data analysis, and it is hoped that future research can delve deeper into these areas. In future research, it is essential to further enhance the feasibility of using virtual reality (VR) technology for training complex skills in children with autism. This involves optimizing the scoring process by integrating autism screening criteria and traditional assessment methods, and adopting more objective scoring forms to standardize evaluations and ensure more accurate²⁸ and objective assessment results. Simultaneously, we will focus more on developing methods for intervening in complex skills, aiming to provide children with autism a more personalized, humane, and emotionally engaging experience in virtual campus environments. This approach aims to meet and adapt to the cognitive and psychological needs of children with autism. Despite the significant achievements of VR technology in assisting children with autism, further research and practical application are necessary to optimize and refine this technology to better serve children with autism.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, L.L., X.Z. and J.C.; methodology, L.L., X.Z. and S.P.; software, X.Z. and S.W.; investigation, X.Z., S.W. and L.W.; data curation, X.Z.; writing—original draft preparation, X.Z.; writing—review and editing, L.L.; L.P. and J.C.; visualization, X.Z.; project administration, L.L.; funding acquisition, L.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund Project of China (No.20BG128).

Data availability

Data is provided within the manuscript or supplementary information files.

Declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethic Institutional Review Board of Wuhan Polytechnic University (protocol code BME-2024-1-22 and date of approval 14 September 2024).