University researchers have received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to fund studies that evaluate the driving skills of teens with autism spectrum disorders, mainly Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism. The co-investigators of the study, Medicine Prof. Daniel Cox and Education Prof. Ron Reeve, who is also a licensed clinical and school psychologist, hope to teach students with these disorders how to drive effectively with the use of a virtual reality simulator.
Those with Asperger's or HFA require "an extremely long period of time" and much more extensive training to learn to drive than the average person, Cox said.
The symptoms of Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism include problems with multitasking and difficulty dealing with the unexpected, Reeve said. Driving can be more difficult for those with Asperger's or HFA because it is often unpredictable and involves dealing with multiple things at one time, so many decisions have to be made that cannot be pre-programmed, he said.
"Some of them may never be able to achieve the skill of driving," he said. People with this condition have "difficulty in accommodating to unexpected events."
Those with Asperger's syndrome or HFA "find it extremely difficult or impossible to learn how to drive a car", Cox said. He described them as wearing "figurative blinders" so that they will follow an established rule very closely but find it extraordinarily difficult to bend the rules. For instance, he said, "If you say follow this car, they will do that exquisitely but they won't pay attention to other cars or other people or stoplights."
The researchers plan to use the virtual reality simulator to determine quickly whether or not an individual has the potential to drive. "It will save the person a lot of misery and disappointment," Cox said.
The simulation will use a step-by-step process. First, the individual will practice driving down the middle of the road on the simulator, without any other cars or traffic lights. Once he masters this task, he will be given a speed limit to follow. Then, he will drive on a virtual highway, learn how to use the mirrors and practice how to brake appropriately.
"You can do in a simulator what you can't do in real life," Reeve said. "The best thing about the simulator is if a learner makes a mistake, we can go back and let them try again and again until they get it right."
The individual will be introduced to traffic gradually.
"The hope is that the virtual reality will help get them up to speed much quicker and much safer than if they did it only in a real car," said Cox, adding that after each skill is acquired in the simulator, the individual will practice it in real life. "[It is] not that dissimilar from a fighter pilot learning how to fly a jet for the first time."
Cox and Reeve both said driving is very important for youth.
"If you can't drive, your degree of independence is significantly restricted, so it's one more effort to help these individuals become more autonomous and independent," Cox said.
The latest study will consist of 20 teens with HFA, who will be evaluated using the driving simulator. Half of them will receive routine driving instruction by their parents, and the other half additionally will get virtual reality training. At the end of two months, both groups will be tested by the virtual reality simulator and again in a DMV examiner's car.
"We expect that the added virtual reality training significantly enhances the acquisition of safe driving skills," Cox said.
The researchers are looking to see if performance on the simulator can predict people's on-road driving performance. A similar study was conducted on high school students without Asperger's or HFA, and "we found that the simulator training significantly helped those who received training," Cox said.
The study will begin this summer, and the results are expected to be reported by the end of the season.
The grant supporting the research was part of the Department of Defense's budget to help people with autism spectrum disorders. Reeve and Cox received the grant after submitting a proposal request to the department. Of the 71 applications submitted for the grant, only three proposals were funded.
"We were very fortunate," Reeve said. "We are just excited about it and hope that we can help these kids lead more normal lives"
Read More
U.Va. researchers identify that HIV drugs can protect against Alzheimer’s disease
By Lauren Seeliger | 2 days agoDoctor Jayakrishna Ambati and his research team have begun work on a new drug called K9 which could treat and prevent Alzheimer’s.
Graduating students share their future plans as they enter the job market
By Nina Broderick | 3 days agoMany students find the Career Center to be a valuable tool during the job search and application process.
U.Va.’s Finals Weekend spotlights the achievement and service of the Class of 2025
By Leigh Bailey | 5 days agoIn University President Jim Ryan’s welcome address, he acknowledged the support of family members and friends present in the audience and beyond that played supportive roles in these graduates’ lives.
