Audio Design Preferences for Immersive Learning Environments: Comparing Autistic Users’ Preferences with Stakeholder Perceptions

Abstract

Immersive learning environments (ILEs) offer considerable potential to support autistic individuals; however, developers often overlook this population’s sensory preferences when developing audio elements. Before implementing audio features in ILEs, understanding user preferences is essential to avoid creating environments that may exclude or overwhelm autistic learners. This foundational study examined whether stakeholder perceptions of autistic individuals’ audio preferences align with actual user preferences, establishing baseline data to inform future ILE audio design. Twenty-three participants (16 autistic individuals and 7 stakeholders including parents, researchers, therapists, and caregivers) completed a two-stage preference assessment examining background speech, background noise, background music, interactive audio, and feedback audio elements. Participants indicated preference (Yes/No) followed by intensity ratings (1-7 scale) for preferred audio elements in learning contexts. Results revealed variation in stakeholder-user alignment across audio categories. Background music and background noise showed strong alignment with negligible effect sizes, suggesting stakeholder input can reliably inform environmental audio decisions for ILE development. However, substantial misalignments emerged for interactive elements: stakeholders overestimated preferences for interactive audio and feedback audio. Background speech showed the largest misalignment. Intensity ratings revealed additional misalignments, particularly for feedback audio. These exploratory findings provide preliminary evidencebased guidance for ILE developers, indicating when stakeholder consultation may be sufficient versus when direct user involvement is necessary, particularly for interactive and feedback audio elements central to ILE learning experiences.