Immersive Technology Through the Lens of Neurodivergence: A Qualitative Exploration of How People With ADHD and Autistic People Experience Virtual Reality

Accessibility of Virtual Reality (VR) for neurodivergent people is of increasing interest, but little is known about how VR should be designed to meet their needs and provide positive experiences for this audience outside of therapeutic contexts. We address this knowledge gap through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 people with ADHD and/or Autism. Leveraging Reflexive Thematic Analysis, we crafted two themes relating to their VR experience: (1) While the overall vision of VR is exciting, existing VR hardware and interaction paradigms are connected to feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and discomfort, and (2) VR world and avatar design needs to enable users to control their preferred level of sensory stimulation while balancing the associated cognitive demands. Based on our findings, we outline a vision of VR that is welcoming to neurodivergent people, provide recommendations for design, and critically reflect on the implications of our work for ongoing research on VR as therapeutic intervention for neurodivergent people.