360º videos as a tool for social skills training with ASD students

Abstract

This study presents research conducted with a group of five students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged between 3 and 7 years, attending a regular school and receiving support from Therapeutic Pedagogy and Hearing and Language. The students participated in a social skills training program that used 360-degree videos to simulate different social situations, such as celebrating birthdays or going on an excursion. The videos were selected to teach the students how to interact in specific social situations, while also showing them how to interpret the emotions of the characters. The study was carried out in a controlled environment to expose the students to previously planned situations. A program was developed consisting of four sessions that addressed different activities to train the social skills of the students, with the main objective being to evaluate the effects of the 360-degree videos on the development of social skills of students with ASD. To check the effectiveness of the visual content, an observation instrument based on a series of pre-established categories of social skills was used. This instrument was applied after each session, allowing the evolution of the program to be evidenced.