Drawing the inner world: exploring autistic perception through virtual reality art-making

First-person accounts of perceptual experience in autism remain underrepresented in psychological research. This exploratory study examined how autistic adults use immersive media to externalize and reflect on perception. Six adults with a formal autism diagnosis (four male, two female; mean age 22.7 years) completed a virtual reality (VR) protocol that combined free drawing in the VR tool Open Brush with the Think Aloud method and a brief interview. To contextualize individual sensory and cognitive profiles, participants completed the Autism Quotient (AQ) and the Glasgow Sensory Questionnaire (GSQ). Reflexive thematic analysis of verbal reports, interviews and digital drawings identified three overarching themes: immersion, artistic expression and individuality, and escapism. Participants described VR as calming, engaging and controllable, with the ability to explore artworks from multiple perspectives and to adjust the environment to reduce sensory demands. Creative approaches were highly individual ranging from detailed figurative drawings to abstract compositions. These often reflected personal interest and preferred sensory qualities. Quantitative scores illustrate the heterogeneity in attention to detail and sensory sensitivity, supporting the qualitative emphasis on variability within autism. The findings demonstrate the feasibility and value of VR drawing as a neurodiversity- affirming participatory method, with potential applications in therapy and in communicating autistic perceptual experience to non-autistic audiences.