Russian VR App for Children With Autism Heads to Brazil
Russian scientists have developed a VR-based therapy tool that helps children with autism practice everyday skills, and now it’s making its way to Brazilian families.
A Russian application designed to support children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is going global. The program, called VR Inclusion, was showcased at the BRICS+ Open Science Week in Rio de Janeiro, where developer representative Gustavo Arthur Chaves confirmed it could be adapted for Brazilian families.
The app was created by researchers at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and the Higher School of Economics’ Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience. It provides children and teenagers with ASD a safe virtual environment, supervised by a tutor, where they can learn key social and everyday skills. Current training scenarios include grocery shopping, visiting a doctor, and taking public transportation.
Chaves added that Brazil-specific scenarios are already under discussion to better reflect local contexts. The app’s effectiveness has been validated through trials involving around 800 Russian children with ASD, aged 8–17. All participants successfully transferred their virtual experiences into real-world situations without discomfort from the headset—disproving early concerns about sensory overload.
