Limitations
autism
Our study does have some limitations and unexpected findings that should be addressed in future research. First, this trial was performed in a single hospital of Shanghai, which might cause selection bias and fail to be fully representative of the general preschoolers with autism. Second, VR-CBT was based on cartoon games, intended to enhance the ability of children with ASD in order to adapt to the external environment and obey instructions. After the study, some parents and children suggested that scenes with more varieties could improve the effectiveness of the therapy. Our research team agrees with this suggestion, and the second phase of DHI will focus on everyday life skills such as dressing and washing as well as social and communication skills. What’s more, considering the compliance and cooperation of children with ASD, we mainly recruited children with IQ>70 in this study. However, nearly half of the individuals with ASD have lower IQ [