The Effect of Virtual Reality–Based Social Cognitive Training for Autistic Adults: Protocol for STEPS (Social Cognitive Training Enhancing Pro-Functional Skills) Randomized Clinical Trial

Johannes Andresen   ^{1, 2} , MSc ;   Alberte C E Jeppesen   ^{1, 2} , MSc ;   Anne Sofie Due   ¹ , MSc ;   Lise Sandvig Mariegaard   ¹ , MSc ;   Rizwan Parvaiz   ³ , MD ;   Carsten Hjorthøj   ^{4, 5} , PhD ;   Amy Elizabeth Pinkham   ⁶ , PhD ;   Merete Nordentoft   ^{4, 7} , DrMSc ;   Gasper Letnar   ⁸ , MSc ;   Jens Richardt Møllegaard Jepsen   ^{9, 10} , PhD ;   Louise Birkedal Glenthøj   ^{1, 2} , DrMSc

¹ VIRTU Research Group, Mental Health Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital – Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark

² Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

³ Department of ADHD and Autism, Mental Health Center Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital – Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark

⁴ Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health (CORE), Mental Health Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital – Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark

⁵ Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

⁶ School of Behavioural and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States

⁷ Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

⁸ Sanos ApS, Søborg, Denmark

⁹ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Copenhagen University Hospital – Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark

¹⁰ Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Center Glostrup, Copenhagen University Hospital – Mental Health Services CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark