Unfortunately this idea is fundamentally flawed. Once someone is on course for a meltdown or shutdown it is, for most of us, inevitable unless the stressors that caused it are rectified or eliminated.
Whilst a VR solution might provide a temporary delay, it cannot stop it if the emotional or sensory triggers are still in place when we return to the world we are escaping from. It's a sticking plaster solution. Yes you might have a market in parents who just want their kid's meltdown to go away for now, but it does not abrogate them from the responsibility of rectifying the situation which triggered the meltdown.
There is no warning system for meltdowns, no "amber alert" that can signal to a parent that one is coming in time to get their child strapped into VR gear. Adults, to some degree, might recognise the signals in themselves, but there is no way for a parent to react in time. If they try to use the hardware once a meltdown has started then the gear won't last long. Have you ever seen the violence of someone resisting restraint? Have you ever actually witnessed a child having a meltdown? How about a 6 foot 6 adult man with arms like girders? The headset would be smashed to pieces in no time. Autistic children as young as 5 have caused serious injury to themselves and those attempting to restrain them - broken bones and open wounds included. Property gets destroyed in spectacular fashion.
What about the disorientation of plunging someone who is already hyper aware and distressed into a virtual world? Have you considered that might make the situation much, much worse? Familiarity is important to everyone but particularly for the autistic children you are targeting with your idea. Plunging them into a virtual, unfamiliar world could be devastating.
Not so long ago autistic people/kids having meltdowns were put in straitjackets, and the underlying problems ignored. Currently we get locked in "quiet rooms" to calm down, and the underlying problems glossed over. VR is just another version of the same, with technological trappings that might convince some that it's a good thing that we should be grateful for, but still, the underlying issues will be brushed under the carpet.
Please do not go down this road. Your idea is not kind, it is highly exploitative and it is doomed to failure once the practicalities are examined in detail. Find something to work on that you already understand and resist the temptation of seeing autistic people or their parents as a financial target.
We don't need VR to block out the world, we need the world to change so we don't need to hide from it. Got any bright ideas that might help encourage autism acceptance?
