Abstract
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent difficulties in communication and social interaction along with a restriction in interests and the presence of repetitive behaviors. The development and use of augmented reality technology for autism has increased in recent years. However, little is known about the impact of these virtual reality technologies on clinical health symptoms. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the impact of augmented reality through social, cognitive, and behavioral domains in children and adolescents with autism. This study is the first contribution that has carried out an evidence-based systematic review including relevant science databases about the effectiveness of augmented reality-based intervention in ASD. The initial search identified a total of 387 records. After the exclusion of papers that are not research studies and are duplicated articles and after screening the abstract and full text, 20 articles were selected for analysis. The studies examined suggest promising findings about the effectiveness of augmented reality-based treatments for the promotion, support, and protection of health and wellbeing in children and adolescents with autism. Finally, possible directions for future work are discussed.
Highlights
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent difficulties in communication and social interaction along with a restriction in interests and the presence of repetitive behaviors [1]
Four studies were excluded afterwards as they included adults (>18) in the sample of participants, five studies were excluded as they did not report an ASD diagnostic evaluation with a validated measure, six studies were excluded as they did not report clear outcomes, and ten studies were excluded as they included virtual technology that were not Augmented reality (AR) technology
Despite there being still scarce empirical investigations that the evidence-based practice (EBP) criteria, the findings of this review suggest that AR techniques may be an effective complement in the field of cognitive-behavioral interventions in children and adolescents with ASD
Summary
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent difficulties in communication and social interaction along with a restriction in interests and the presence of repetitive behaviors [1]. The steady growth of the prevalence of this disorder is partially due to a greater awareness among parents and professionals from health and educational services and to improvements in the diagnostic process, which has led to early detection and diagnosis [4] This clinical condition has a significant impact on social life [5] and can have long-term negative consequences on different domains such as peer social interaction, cognitive abilities, daily life skills, academic achievement, and mental health [6,7]. Due to this diagnosis, children with this
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