Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, including impaired multisensory integration, which might negatively impact cognitive and motor skill performance, and hence negatively affect learning of tasks. Considering that tasks in virtual environment may provide an engaging tool as adjuncts to conventional therapies, we set out to compare motor performance between young people with ASD and a typically developing (TD) control group that underwent coincident timing tasks based on Kinect (no physical contact) and on Keyboard (with physical contact) environments. Using a randomized repeated cross‐over controlled trial design, 50 young people with ASD and 50 with TD, matched by age and sex were divided into subgroups of 25 people that performed the two first phases of the study (acquisition and retention) on the same device—real or virtual—and then switched to the other device to repeat acquisition and retention phases and finally switched on to a touch screen (transfer phase). Results showed that practice in the virtual task was more difficult (producing more errors), but led to a better performance in the subsequent practice in the real task, with more pronounced improvement in the ASD as compared to the TD group. It can be concluded that the ASD group managed to transfer the practice from a virtual to a real environment, indicating that virtual methods may enhance learning of motor and cognitive skills. A need for further exploration of its effect across a number of tasks and activities is warranted. Autism Res 2020, 13: 307–319. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

中文翻译：

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自闭症谱系障碍年轻人在真实和虚拟环境中的运动学习和转移：一项前瞻性随机交叉对照试验。

自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）与社交沟通和社交互动中的持续缺陷有关，包括受损的多感觉整合，这可能会对认知和运动技能表现产生负面影响，从而对学习任务产生负面影响。考虑到虚拟环境中的任务可能会提供一种引人入胜的工具作为传统疗法的辅助手段，我们着手比较患有ASD的年轻人与接受了基于Kinect的同步计时任务（没有身体接触）的典型发展（TD）对照组之间的运动表现）和键盘（具有物理接触）环境。使用随机重复交叉对照试验设计，有50名ASD年轻人和50名TD年轻人，按年龄和性别匹配的人分为25个小组，分别在同一设备（真实或虚拟）上执行研究的两个第一阶段（获取和保留），然后切换到另一台设备重复采集和保留阶段，最后切换到触摸屏（传输阶段）。结果表明，虚拟任务中的练习更加困难（产生更多的错误），但是在随后的实际任务中的练习中表现出更好的性能，与TD组相比，ASD的改进更为明显。可以得出结论，ASD小组设法将实践从虚拟环境转移到真实环境，这表明虚拟方法可以增强运动和认知技能的学习。因此，有必要进一步探索其在许多任务和活动中的作用。结果表明，虚拟任务中的练习更加困难（产生更多的错误），但是在随后的实际任务中的练习中表现出更好的性能，与TD组相比，ASD的改进更为明显。可以得出结论，ASD小组设法将实践从虚拟环境转移到真实环境，这表明虚拟方法可以增强运动和认知技能的学习。因此，有必要进一步探索其在许多任务和活动中的作用。结果表明，虚拟任务中的练习更加困难（产生更多的错误），但是在随后的实际任务中的练习中表现出更好的性能，与TD组相比，ASD的改进更为明显。可以得出结论，ASD小组设法将实践从虚拟环境转移到真实环境，这表明虚拟方法可以增强运动和认知技能的学习。因此，有必要进一步探索其在许多任务和活动中的作用。表明虚拟方法可以增强运动和认知技能的学习。因此，有必要进一步探索其在许多任务和活动中的作用。表明虚拟方法可以增强运动和认知技能的学习。因此，有必要进一步探索其在许多任务和活动中的作用。Autism Res 2020，13：307-319。©2019国际自闭症研究会，Wiley Periodicals，Inc.