Involvement of children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) in the design of new educational technology is becoming more prevalent. Despite potential barriers due to communication and ideation difficulties for children with ASC, adapted participatory design methods can successfully facilitate their direct involvement. Nonetheless, methods requiring face-to-face communication can still be difficult for children with ASC and research suggests that technology mediation could facilitate their contribution. This study explores the use of collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) as a medium through which students evaluated existing computer games and offered suggestions for game development. CVEs in which the users were represented by (a) avatars and (b) video-pods were compared to a face-to-face condition. Twelve typically developing (aged 8–9 years), 12 higher ability ASC (12–14) and 4 lower ability ASC children (12–14) participated. All student groups preferred the video-pod CVE and students with ASC were generally better able to contribute effectively through this medium than face-to-face.

Our vision is that regardless of future variations in the interior of airplane cabins, we can utilize ever-advancing state-of-the-art virtual and mixed reality technologies with the latest research in neuroscience and psychology to achieve high levels of comfort for passengers. Current surveys on passenger's experience during air travel reveal that they are least satisfied with the amount and effectiveness of their personal space, and their ability to work, sleep or rest. Moreover, considering current trends it is likely that the amount of available space is likely to decrease and therefore the passenger's physical comfort during a flight is likely to worsen significantly. Therefore, the main challenge is to enable the passengers to maintain a high level of comfort and satisfaction while being placed in a restricted physical space.

COSPATIAL is a 3-year collaborative, technology-focused project exploring the use of collaborative virtual environments (CVE) and shared active surfaces (SAS) for supporting social competence for children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). The UK team are developing CVE technology through a user centered design approach to inform design decisions and review prototype development. Teachers are involved throughout the design process to ensure that the technology developed is useful and effective. Involving children with ASC is also an important aspect of our design process. However, there are few published methods and guidance to support this involvement. This paper presents a method for involving children with ASC in the design of CVE.