Virtual-reality technology is increasingly making its mark in health care, including in the autism therapy space.
Currently, some health care providers are using VR as a therapeutic tool for managing pain and anxiety with patients. Meanwhile, in the surgical setting, virtual reality is being used as a way for up-and-coming surgeons and students to practice complex procedures and surgeries in a risk-free environment.
And when it comes to caring for individuals with autism, some organizations have begun piloting VR as a way to do social skills training. Some in the industry also see applications for reducing sensory overload and more.
While there are use cases, VR in autism is certainly not mainstream, however. That could soon change, though, as larger, well-established organizations begin to tout their use of such technologies.
“VR technology is enhancing personalized care for neurodiverse individuals of all ages and backgrounds,” Vijay Ravindran, CEO of Floreo, said in a Monday announcement highlighting the findings from a recently published VR study.
Published in Behavior Analysis in Practice, a peer-reviewed journal of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, the study sought to determine the effectiveness of incorporating VR technology in teaching skills to participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Children who participated in the study used Floreo’s VR platform, a virtual-reality tool that’s used in various settings to help teach social, behavioral, communication and life skills for individuals with ASD and ADHD.
Among its findings, the study found that “children not only expressed happiness while participating in [VR] simulations but also developed skills that were maintained once they stopped using the technology.”
“VR is an emerging technology, and more research is needed to determine its efficacy as well as its impact on variables such as client indices of happiness and social validity,” an abstract of the study explains. “In this study, we successfully taught three children with ASD three different skills using a VR treatment package that consisted of VR, prompts and reinforcement. Prior to teaching these skills, we included a cooperation phase with the intent to increase acceptance of VR equipment as needed.”
BlueSprig Pediatrics Inc. was involved with the study.
Founded in 2017, the Houston, Texas-based BlueSprig is a provider of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) treatment services. The company has more than 170 locations across the country, making it one of the largest autism therapy providers in the U.S.
“The results of this study demonstrate VR’s ability to recreate real-world scenarios into realistic experiences that improve the lives of clients receiving ABA therapy,” Ashley Furhman, vice president of specialty clinics at BlueSprig, said in the announcement. “As a provider of ABA therapy, positive client experiences guide our research and practice. Learning that the technology used in this study was beneficial to our practice and positively impacted program participant happiness was incredible. It means the use of this technology has the power to alter ABA therapy programs.”
BlueSprig is backed by private equity giant KKR.
The provider recently experienced a leadership transition, with former CEO Jason Owens announcing that he was stepping down from his role in April. Its leadership page does not list a current CEO.
Ania Labno is currently listed as chief transition officer.
Floreo has raised several million dollars since its 2016 founding, with its most recent fundraising round coming in 2022, when it landed $10 million. The round was led by Tenfore Holdings, with participation from the Felton Group, the Autism Impact Fund and the Disability Opportunity Fund.
The VR company acquired Autism Eyes, an autism diagnostic tool developed by Cleveland Clinic Innovations, earlier this year.
