The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy of Floreo's police safety module (PSM) in adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by assessing improvement in police interaction skills as compared to a video modeling intervention.
Advances in virtual reality (VR) technology offer new opportunities to design interventions targeting the core deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and promote acquisition of skills necessary for effective navigation of challenging social situations, such as engagement with law enforcement. Researchers have explored the potential of virtual reality technology in targeting autism-related deficits, but at this time there are no evidence-based VR interventions for ASD. While most research labelled VR for the purposes of therapy has not been immersive, in recent years, the commercial introduction of head-mounted displays (HMD) and lower cost of virtual reality technology have led to greater interest in therapeutic applications of VR. As part of a mission to develop VR products for individuals with ASD, investigators will collaborate with a commercial tech start-up company, Floreo Technology, to study a mobile VR module for police safety skills. Investigators seek to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the mobile VR police safety module (PSM) and the effectiveness of the module in improving police interaction skills in adolescents and adults with ASD.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
158
Floreo's Police Safety Module (PSM) offers a supervised VR experience for people with ASD. The software is an application that provides a 3D immersive scene for headset-compatible smartphones. The person with ASD will use a smartphone capable of running the application with a dedicated headset providing the virtual environment. The PSM provides an immersive story-based intervention that shows a fully realized and intricately detailed urban environment designed to engage the user in a virtual encounter with a law enforcement officer. The immersive VR environment engages the person with ASD as an actor in a virtual narrative, incorporating strategies from both story-based intervention and video modeling. The video demonstrates the approach and initial engagement efforts of two police officers in the virtual environment, from the perspective of the person wearing the headset. The PSM allows a monitoring therapist to use a tablet or phone to supervise the person's virtual world.
The video modeling intervention is a subset of the BE SAFE The Movie Curriculum Lessons (https://besafethemovie.com/curriculum/) that were selected to match Floreo PSM on length. The BE SAFE The Movie Curriculum consists of video-based instruction on police officer interaction expectations and safety. Within each of three sessions, participants will watch videos, complete worksheets, and discuss topics related to police safety knowledge and behaviors with the study administrator.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Change in Live or Virtual Police Interaction Assessment Scores From Pre-to-Post Treatment
The primary efficacy endpoint is the change in live in-person (Phase IIA) or virtual (Phase IIB) Police Interaction Assessment Scores between the Floreo PSM Virtual Reality Intervention and BE SAFE Video-Based intervention (Phase IIA) or treatment-as-usual (Phase IIB) from pre-treatment to post-treatment. Greater pre-treatment to post-treatment scores indicate better 3rd party ratings of social skills in that domain. The range of possible scores for the Police Interaction Assessment is -3 (performance got significantly worse from pre-treatment to post-treatment) to 3 (performance improved significantly from pre-treatment to post-treatment) on each variable (overall behavior, appropriate response, orienting, and fidgeting).
Time frame: The Police Interaction Assessment was administered pre- and post-intervention (~2 weeks apart). Outcome measure data represent the difference in Police Interaction Assessment scores (post-intervention minus pre-intervention.)
Change in Police Interaction Knowledge
The secondary endpoint includes changes in Police Interaction Knowledge Questionnaire Scores from Pre-Treatment to Post-Treatment or Pre-TAU to Post-TAU. Before and after the in-person Floreo VR intervention, participants completed a 10-question survey that asked about their feelings of comfort and safety when interacting with police officers. The scale for each question ranged from 1-7, with 7 indicating greater feelings of safety, comfort, and knowledge and 1 indicating fewer feelings of safety, comfort, and knowledge. Scores were summed to create a total score, which ranged from 10 to 70, and then subtracted to calculate a change score (post-intervention minus pre-intervention). Change scores, which had a possible range of -60 to +60, were compared between groups. Greater change scores after intervention or TAU indicate greater feelings of safety, comfort, and knowledge when interacting with police.
Time frame: Baseline and immediately post-intervention (~2 weeks apart)
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Participants will follow all study procedures with the exception of the VR-based intervention including assessments.