自閉性感官經驗的虛擬實境體驗

創作動機與目的：自閉症類群障礙症（Autism spectrum disorders，以下簡稱ASD），ASD是一種早發性的神經發展障礙，即是在台灣常聽到的自閉症，目前已經成為大家耳熟能詳的疾病。經大量文獻閱讀，與自身和家人互動的經驗發現，ASD的真實樣貌與先前的認知相差甚遠，尤其從ASD在感官知覺上的特殊性切入了解時，能夠使我們有效的拋開過往既定的陳見和習慣來理解ASD ，在判讀ASD患者的行為意圖時，能不再武斷地從自身經驗出發，願意多做開放性的思考。虛擬實境的發展已經越趨成熟，在眾多過往研究中發現虛擬實境能夠有效的增進他人對於其他個體的理解，因此萌生以此種新媒介的內容創作來呈現自閉性感官知覺經驗的想法，讓一般人可以透過這樣沉浸式的體驗，對於ASD群體有更直接的了解。研究方法：20名體驗者由一般大眾與諮商心理專業的大學生和研究生組成。在體驗前後，讓其填寫對自閉症刻板印象問卷，並於體驗後對體驗者進行內容理解評估與深度訪談，透過問卷填答結果與訪談內容分析，來了解本次創作體驗對於體驗者在自閉症感官知覺上的理解，與在刻板印象上產生的影響。研究結果：從內容理解評估問卷的分數計算，滿分17分，20位體驗者平均得分為14.7分，顯示體驗者對於創作內容有高程度的接收和理解。在六題自閉症刻板印象的答題分析中顯示，體驗者在一、二、五題的態度意象上皆因體驗而產生顯著變化，分別是關於自閉症者是否會因外界刺激產生情緒反應？是否在意他人評價？與複雜花紋是否都會使個體產生愉快感受？而三、四、六題的變化則不顯著，這樣的結果表明，本次的創作體驗是能夠對於體驗者在對自閉症的刻板印象上，產生一定程度的影響。結論：從問卷與訪談等體驗結果反映出，透過自閉性感官經驗的虛擬實境體驗，能夠有效的讓他人更容易理解，自閉症者在感知覺問題發生時的處境，有能力推測自閉症者行為背後可能的原因。由以上的結果看來，虛擬實境科技應用於本次主題中，以呈現感官與精神狀態上是有效的工具，雖然無法真的讓人成為目標狀態，但以溝通和傳達的目的上來說，已經擁有非常好的效果，值得在未來繼續探討更多應用的可能。

關鍵字

自閉症類群障礙症；感官知覺；虛擬實境；體驗

並列摘要

Objectives: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) consist of a group of early-onset neurodevelopmental disorder, commonly referred to as “self-closure disease” (自閉症) in Taiwan. Through volumes of literatures and my personal experience interacting with a family member suffering from ASD, I realized that the true nature ASD is much different from what this name appears to imply, especially when the particularity of ASD’s connection to sensory perception begins to unfold. This discovery allows us to further our understanding of ASD beyond the stereotypes in the past. When interpreting the behavioral intentions of ASD patients, we should so with an open mind and refrain from projecting our biases. On the other hand, the technology of Virtual Reality has become mature and we have seen its application in enhancing our ability to understand others. This research is an attempt to create an immersive experience of sensory perception of autistic individuals so normal people can have a more direct understanding of the ASD community. Methods: 20 undergraduate and graduate students were recruited to experience the VR application, some of them majoring in counseling psychology, while others were from different departments. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their understanding of autism before and after the experience, which was followed by an in-depth interview. Through the questionnaires and the interviews, we expect to understand how the subject’s understanding of autistic individuals and ASD were affected after the experience. Results: Results of the questionnaire indicate that participants accepted and understood the content of VR application well, with an average score of 14.7 out of 17. Regarding the six questions about autism stereotypes, answers to question one (Do autistic people react emotionally to external stimuli?), two (Do autistic people care what others think?) and five (Do complex patterns make autistic people feel happy?) show that participants’ point of views had significantly changed by the experience, while the result of question three, four and six weren’t significantly before and after the experience. Overall, the result shows that this experience has certain impacts on people's understanding of autism. Conclusions: The results of questionnaire and interview show that the immersive experience of sensory perception of autistic individuals through virtual reality helps non-autistic people better understand the situations of autistic people due to their perception issues, and makes it possible for non-autistic people to understand the reasons behind autistic people’s behaviors. The results also show that virtual reality technology is an effective tool when it comes to presenting sensory experience of autistic people. Although it’s highly difficult to mimic the real perceptional distortion, it’s still highly effective when it comes to communicating the experience, and it’s worth further exploration in the future.