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Video Games for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

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Abstract

Video games are a promising area of intervention for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, reviews on this topic are scarce. This review on studies exploring video games for the treatment of ASD followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and its protocol was registered in PROSPERO. PubMed, PsycInfo, Embase, WebOfScience and clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched. Twenty-four articles were included in the review. Video game-based interventions were effective for alleviating ASD symptoms, albeit with small effect sizes. High rates of acceptability and adherence to treatment were obtained. Conclusion: Video games are a promising area for improving the treatment of children with ASD. Exploring commercial video games is one of the lines for future research.

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Acknowledgments

This study received grant support from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII CM19/00026), and the Conchita Rábago Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain

    Laura Jiménez-Muñoz, Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo, Isaac Díaz-Oliván, Manon Moreno, Enrique Baca-García & Alejandro Porras-Segovia

  2. Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Laura Jiménez-Muñoz, Isaac Díaz-Oliván, Manon Moreno & Enrique Baca-García

  3. Departamento de Psiquiatría Infantojuvenil, Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain

    Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo & Enrique Baca-García

  4. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo

  5. Departamento de Psiquiatría Infantojuvenil, Hospital Reina Sofía de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain

    Pilar Calvo-Rivera

  6. Departamento de Psiquiatría, Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain

    Enrique Baca-García

  7. Hospital Universitario Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain

    Alejandro Porras-Segovia

  8. Hospital Universitario de Valdemoro, Madrid, Spain

    Enrique Baca-García

  9. Departamento de Psiquiatría, Hospital Universitario Central de Villalba, Madrid, Spain

    Enrique Baca-García

  10. CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain

    Enrique Baca-García

  11. Université de Nîmes, Nîmes, France

    Enrique Baca-García

  12. Departamento de Psiquiatría, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile

    Enrique Baca-García

Authors
  1. Laura Jiménez-Muñoz
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  2. Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo
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  3. Pilar Calvo-Rivera
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  4. Isaac Díaz-Oliván
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  5. Manon Moreno
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  6. Enrique Baca-García
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  7. Alejandro Porras-Segovia
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Contributions

LJM conceptualized and designed the study, conducted the literature search, identified and abstracted data, drafted the initial manuscript, and approved the final manuscript. IPC conceptualized and designed the study, conducted the literature search, identified and abstracted data, and approved the final manuscript. PCR, IDO, MM and EBG critically reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. APS conceptualized and designed the study, coordinated and supervised the data collection, critically reviewed and supervised the data collection, critically reviewed the manuscript, and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo.

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Jiménez-Muñoz, L., Peñuelas-Calvo, I., Calvo-Rivera, P. et al. Video Games for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. J Autism Dev Disord 52, 169–188 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04934-9

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