How are games for autistic children being evaluated?

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopment disorder mainly characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, as well as by restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. In the last few years, many studies have presented serious games to support therapy for ASD children. Thus, it is essential that such games be evaluated in order to obtain solid evidence of their positive impact on this type of treatment. In this paper, we aim to investigate how games for autistic children have been evaluated. To achieve this goal, we conducted a Systematic Literature Review and analyzed which evaluation methods have been used, how these methods have been applied and combined, and which quality aspects have been evaluated. In addition, we characterized the number and profile (e.g., age and special need) of the participants involved in this type of evaluation. Our results indicate that there is no consolidated methodology in place, since several methods have been used and combined in different ways to evaluate serious games that support the treatment of ASD children. As contributions, this paper advances knowledge about how serious games have been evaluated in this context.