Education Commons^™

The Potential Of Virtual Environments To Support Soft-Skill Acquisition For Individuals With Autism, Jennifer Gallup, Mary E. Little, Barbara Serianni, Onur Kocaoz

The Qualitative Report

This study examined the phenomenon of online gaming to describe the social interactions of young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as they socialize and develop relationships within virtual environments. This research built upon previous literature related to the identification of alternate modes of developing social skills and interpersonal relationships of adolescents with ASD by exploring the social implications of virtual environments. Young adults with autism experience grim outcomes such as low enrollment in postsecondary education, low wages, few living independently, and few maintaining full time employment as a result of poor social skills. Given the availability of online …