Virtual Reality in Pediatric Neurorehabilitation: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism and Cerebral Palsy

This paper presents the current status and use of virtual reality (VR) for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and cerebral palsy. This literature review explores how VR systems have been used as treatment tools to address the primary impairments of these disorders. Three major classes of VR display systems are identified that can be characterized by the type of human-computer interaction provided: (1) feedback-focused interaction, (2) gesture-based interaction, and (3) haptic-based interaction. The demonstrated effectiveness and potential effectiveness of each class are discussed in the context of remediating the primary impairments of children with ADHD, autism and cerebral palsy. Three major themes for future research are discussed to support continued research interest in using VR in pediatric neurorehabilitation. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel