XR Therapeutics: Making VR Accessible for Neurodivergent Individuals
Team:
Akshita Jain Rowynn Dumont
My Role:
I made the game/ experience on Unity.
Duration:
2 weeks
In a world increasingly shaped by technology, extended reality (XR) has the potential to revolutionize education and therapeutics. Virtual reality (VR), in particular, offers a powerful means to create controlled environments that are otherwise difficult to achieve, opening new avenues for meaningful support and engagement.
However, significant barriers remain, especially for neurodivergent individuals, who often face challenges with inaccessible or overly stimulating designs. Our project seeks to bridge these gaps by making VR more intuitive and inclusive, leveraging within-subject experiments and iterative design processes to create tailored, user-centered solutions.
Background
It all started with conversations between my collaborator, Rowynn, and me. Her experience teaching neurodivergent individuals at HeartShare shed light on the unique challenges they face with learning tools. Together, we saw an opportunity to create a virtual environment that wasn’t just functional but meaningful, an immersive space where users could explore, learn, and grow without barriers.
We started with a block-building task for our experiment: simple yet versatile, engaging yet intuitive. Blocks, after all, are universal. Their straightforward mechanics allow participants of all abilities to engage, making them an ideal foundation for our exploration.
Problem
The first step was identifying pain points. Research by Lukava et al. (2022) underscored the challenges neurodivergent individuals face when interacting with XR technologies:
1. Sensory Overload: Excessive multisensory stimulation often leads to motion sickness, auditory overwhelm, and cognitive fatigue.
2. Customization Needs: The one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work; users need adaptable settings to suit their preferences.
3. Developer Blind Spots: Many XR creators lack the resources or awareness to design with neurodivergent accessibility in mind.
Our goal was to address these issues head-on, grounding our design in real-world needs and feedback.
Experimental Design
The study utilized a within-subjects design to examine the effect of haptic feedback (vibrations) on task performance and user engagement in a VR environment. Each participant completed two conditions in randomized order:
1. Vibrations On: Haptic feedback enabled, simulating tactile sensations during gameplay.
2. Vibrations Off: No haptic feedback was provided.
The independent variable was the presence or absence of haptic feedback. Dependent variables included measures of task performance, focus, emotional calmness, engagement, and sensory sensitivity as recorded through pre-and post-surveys and participant feedback on their experience
User Testing
Twenty participants were recruited to take part in the study. Testing was conducted at SOLAS Art Studios and The New School. Participants ranged in age from 11 to 55 years, with a mean age of 30.35 years. Of the participants, 11 self-identified as neurotypical, six reported a diagnosis of ADHD, three identified with other neurodivergent conditions, and two preferred not to disclose their neurotype.
Data Collection
Condition without Vibrations: Average Time for the Vibrations Condition is 137s Average for participants with ADHD 148s Average for Neurotypical participants 141s 6 people timed out; 3 were participants with ADHD Condition with Vibrations: Average Time for the Vibrations Condition is 163s Average for participants with ADHD 178s Average for Neurotypical participants 153s 7 people timed out; 3 were participants with ADHD
What did you like the most about the VR tasks?
“When I was able to build the blocks, it was really fun -- an exciting task to mimic the tower in front of me. I was motivated to angle the blocks similarly. I liked the different colors as well. Moreover, the two levels - vibrations and no vibrations - was a surprising change.”
“They were pretty engaging. However, since I am mildly colourblind, I kept getting confused between green and blue“.
“Realtime physics like gravity and collision.“
What did challenges did you experience during the VR tasks?
“My collider keeps bumping onto the table, and it makes my location move when I don’t want to; the second layer from the bottom is hard because the two cubes on the sides tend to fall“
“Moving around made me nauseous. As I'm short, I found it difficult to pick up some blocks and kept bumping into real life barricades. The building sickness along with frustration was undesirable. Furthermore, it was my first experience with VR (ever) and I was not well trained with using joysticks which made my experience harder.“
“Impulsivity, I would pick up the wrong block before looking to see which one came next“
“The table kept moving away“
Takeaways
1. Performance Trends: Participants with ADHD performed better in the no-vibrations condition, but even in this condition, they often did not complete the task. They also required more time on average to complete both conditions compared to neurotypical participants. This suggests that haptic feedback, rather than helpful sensory cues, may contribute to sensory overload in this population.
2. Challenges and Feedback: The user feedback revealed both technical and experiential challenges, such as issues with controller functionality, movement dynamics, and the VR table interface. Participants provided valuable suggestions, including incorporating calming environments, improved sensory customization, and audio-tactile integration, which will guide future iterations of the program.
3. Engagement and Usability: Despite the challenges, participants rated the VR tasks as engaging and immersive, emphasizing the potential of XR for creating practical therapeutic tools. The study achieved its goal of gathering foundational data, which will inform improvements to the program. Specifically, we plan to address the feedback provided by participants to correct glitches, refine task mechanics, and enhance sensory customization options. This feedback-loop approach ensures that future versions of the program will better cater to the needs of neurodivergent users.
Next Steps
Additional research and development will focus on implementing these changes. Subsequent phases of the project will expand to include a broader range of neurodivergent conditions, more complex environments, and real-world implementations. The ultimate objective remains to design an XR program capable of delivering measurable improvements in focus, motor control, and sensory integration across diverse populations.
While the data did not support the hypothesis, the groundwork has been successfully laid for future advancements, underscoring this research's iterative and exploratory nature. This study adds to the expanding research on XR in therapeutic settings, emphasizing the significance of adaptive, user-focused design in developing accessible and effective solutions for neurodivergent individuals.