Evaluating Free Serious Game-Based Apps for Teaching Socio-Emotional Skills to Individuals on the Autism Spectrum: A Systematic Review of the Smartphone Markets.
Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by restricted and repetitive behaviors or interests, emotional difficulties, and challenges with social communication. Technological tools are crucial for individuals on the autism spectrum as they offer predictable environments free of social demands. Mobil...
| Published in: | Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 56; no. 6; pp. 2186 - 2205 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
Jun2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194161949&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194161949 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 01623257 AUT jtl: Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders issn: 01623257 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 56 iid: 6 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 194161949 182827699 194161949 194161949 10.1007/s10803-025-06738-7 194161949 ppf: 2186 ppct: 19 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Evaluating Free Serious Game-Based Apps for Teaching Socio-Emotional Skills to Individuals on the Autism Spectrum: A Systematic Review of the Smartphone Markets. aug: au: Azadboni, Tahere Talebi Sadoughi, Farahnaz Panaghi, Leili Nasiri, Somayeh affil: https://ror.org/03w04rv71 Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Rashid Yasmi St, Tehran, Iran sug: subj: Autism Spectrum Disorder Psychosocial Factors Emotions Teaching Methods Mobile Applications Video Games Models, Theoretical Smartphone Social Skills Human Systematic Review User-Computer Interface Educational Technology Social Behavior Education Descriptive Statistics Checklists Summated Rating Scaling Persons with Disabilities Communication ab: Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by restricted and repetitive behaviors or interests, emotional difficulties, and challenges with social communication. Technological tools are crucial for individuals on the autism spectrum as they offer predictable environments free of social demands. Mobile smartphones are particularly suitable for individuals on the autism spectrum due to their attractive screens, visually stimulating displays, high portability, engaging music and game functions, and ease of use. This study investigated the current market situation for game-based mobile applications designed to teach socio-emotional skills to individuals on the autism spectrum. This study focused on identifying game-based mobile applications available on Android and iOS platforms, evaluating the extracted serious games using a serious games assessment tool, and assessing the apps with the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). We also provided suggestions for future designs. 10 applications were identified on the Android and iOS. At first glance, it seems there are several game-based applications for teaching socio-emotional skills to individuals on the autism spectrum, but most of them contain advice and textual information and lack the main aspects of serious games. On average, the design of the selected applications based on the use of serious game design principles can be classified as good. Additionally, more than half of the apps (70%) received an acceptable MARS score. The findings reveal that few apps meet the predetermined criteria for quality, content, or performance, indicating a need for future designs to adhere to these principles. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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