Asperger's Therapy Hits Second Life

Jan. 15, 2008 — -- Texas researchers believe that people suffering from Asperger's syndrome -- a cognitive disorder often referred to as high-functioning autism -- may have found a new therapy in an unlikely place: the online virtual world Second Life.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health started using the online therapy, which pairs clinicians' avatars with those of Asperger's patients, in a conversation, according to Sandra Chapman, the center's chief director.

"Asperger's usually affects people who have high-functioning learning skills but have a deficit interacting with people," Chapman said. "[They say], 'How do you ask people for a date? How do you inject yourself into a conversation when you want to talk?' This provides a forum for that."

Asperger's syndrome is just one disorder in the autism family, resulting in extreme social awkwardness. But unlike many autistic people, those with the disorder can maintain relationships with people, including marriage, and hold down jobs, according to Chapman. Despite this, patients often have a hard time detecting emotional subtleties and social cues that the average person takes for granted.

As a treatment, professionals that include occupational therapists and psychiatrists take patients through a series of exercises, in groups and individually, designed to help them learn social skills. In the center's new therapy, patients may have a job interview with a "boss" character or learn to ask another avatar out on a date.

Chapman believes that the Second Life therapy could be superior in that it makes situations seem more real because they're connected to a character, not a therapist you see every week.

"You're going to have to introduce someone to your boss and you're going to have to ask for a raise," Chapman said. "Within the virtual world, they say they feel the emotion as they would in the real world, which role-play doesn't do. It's too artificial. ... Once they begin to gain confidence in the virtual world, they can interact in the real world."