Autism and Virtual Reality: Bridging Worlds through Technology

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It was a warm afternoon on the playground. My friends and I were playing a game of sharks and minnows with the new kid in our class, whom I’ll call Andrew. He was very quiet, but we thought he was just shy. We never learned until after he transferred to a special education school that he was managing Autism.

As a student who has attended public schools all my life, this is my earliest memory of getting to know a person experiencing Autism. Since then, many, myself included, have become even more aware of its commonality.

This has been especially true for Asia V., a technologist and social science enthusiast, whose mission is to support people like Andrew and their families with the latest technologies to improve their quality of life. In April 2024, she co-founded a MedTech startup to do just this: SimHealth XR.

SimHealth XR is a company emerging in the Autism, neurodiversity, wellness and extended reality (XR) landscapes. For about a year and a half, they have been developing a VR app for individuals with Autism to practice social interaction and modulate sensory input.

Formed by a team of four UC San Diego undergraduates, SimHealth XR is one of the many examples of student innovations making real-world impact. Their journey, however, has not been easy. Many competitors have already spent years developing intellectual property and employ professionals who hold experience from long careers in the industry. For example, Floreo VR, another startup focused on building VR worlds for people with Autism, holds at least four patents and hires a team of seasoned M.D.’s, engineers, and clinical researchers. However, understanding their competition has not deterred one of SimHealth’s lead engineers and co-founders, Phillip Leyva Ramirez. He spearheaded efforts in programming the sensory modulation features of the world using a game engine called Unity. “The most challenging part was definitely getting myself familiar with Unity,” he recalls. Unity is an industry-standard video game development platform that allows developers to connect programming to game elements. It has been applied to products far beyond the video game industry, from simulations to architectural visualizations and other immersive experiences. However, the program often takes months to grasp, and years to become an expert at. Phillip and his team were able to build a prototype of their app in just 10 weeks, thanks to the MAVERiC XR studio’s accelerator program for building startups that use Unity at UC San Diego.

However, despite high hopes for the VR industry in the past decade, personal headset usage has lagged far behind other personal digital devices, like phones and laptops. The Apple Vision Pro, which was released in February 2024, experienced a disappointing turnout in sales, and was discontinued not long after its launch.

Furthermore, to many, the thought of sporting a heavy, motion-sickness inducing helmet isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind for treatment or therapy. However, the current gold standard for Autism therapy, Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), is very expensive and often unaffordable. Traditionally, ABA involves many repeated sessions over the course of months to years between a therapist and the child. Together, they practice daily tasks and rehearse common social situations. However, many families and individuals with Autism have mixed experiences with ABA. Before better practices in ABA were put in place, the field put too much of an emphasis on defining a single neurotypical standard. This often resulted in methods that many patients and families described as forceful and overbearing, failing to recognize the diversity of ways individuals on the spectrum can live successfully. Many with Autism who have experienced similar forms of ABA cite it as a traumatizing, dehumanizing experience. In fact, a study has found a link between PTSD and ABA therapy in Autism, though more research in the area needs to be done to confirm this connection. However, what is known is that ABA clinics are often inaccessible in rural areas and therapy can cost uninsured families up to tens of thousands of dollars each year.

SimHealth XR has realized this and is aiming to leverage the “virtual” and “remote” aspects of VR to its advantage. “It’s bridging geographical and socioeconomic gaps in access to Autism support modalities,” Asia explains.

SimHealth XR isn’t the only startup that has noticed this. In the past few years, government agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institute of Health (NIH) have supported startups and research efforts towards XR solutions in MedTech, including Autism therapies.

Asia points out, “this technology can essentially tailor interventions to individual needs, preferences, and learning styles. XR provides a controlled, immersive environment for practicing social skills, emotional regulation, etc.” Her startup aims to capture these strengths. She believes apps like SimHealth XR’s will “personalize the experience for individuals on the spectrum.” Personalized care could target individual areas of concern of individuals on their journey to improve their social skills and acclimation to sensory stimulation.

Besides the non-invasive aspect of a VR-based solution, she is most excited about the agency that SimHealth XR would provide individuals and their families with Autism in their treatment plan -- a feature that ABA seems to lack. “These are behavior adaptations that the individuals are choosing themselves if they believe these adaptations will serve them, versus it being forced on them. It’s a holistic approach to addressing multiple aspects of Autism, including social skills, emotional regulation, and practical living skills.”

As CEO, she hopes to continue building and evolving SimHealth XR towards her dream of creating a more robust and holistic solution for individuals with Autism, neurodiversity, wellness goals, and their families. For Asia, empowering these individuals with her app means giving them “the tools, confidence, and autonomy to make informed decisions and take charge of their lives.”

However, both her and her team of engineers, including Phillip, have not forgotten the rising competition and consumer skepticism around VR and AI. What is certain is that the research, technology, and industry will continue to evolve beyond the current understanding of Autism. “I always get surprised that even compared to 20 years ago, Autism research wasn’t as robust as it is now,” Phillip points out. Autism is a growing area of research and diagnoses are on the rise. SimHealth XR is responding to this trend, and is already working hard to develop their second prototype. In the future, they hope to connect with classrooms of individuals with Autism and have students give feedback on their VR world.

Perhaps one day, these students could play games like Sharks and Minnows from anywhere, anytime. They would be able to meet and connect with all kinds of neurodiverse students, without being limited by the walls of their institution. Many, like Phillip and Asia, are optimistic about this dream. †

*If you are interested in contacting SimHealth XR, Asia V., or Phillip Leyva Ramirez, please reach out to the team at simhealthxr@gmail.com.

Written by Editor and Staff Writer Eleanor Jung (eljung@ucsd.edu)

Works Cited:

“The Complete Guide to ABA Therapy Costs.” Kids Club ABA, 1 Mar. 2025,

kidsclubaba.com/complete-guide-aba-therapy-costs-funding-solutions/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.

Kupferstein H (2018), "Evidence of increased PTSD symptoms in autistics exposed to applied behavior analysis". Advances in Autism, Vol. 4 No. 1 pp. 19–29, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016

Image credit: Getty