A Systematic Review of Gamified Augmented Reality Interventions to Enhance Engagement for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_6How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Augmented Reality; Gamification; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Engagement; Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) offers a significant challenge in social communication, sustained attention, and motivation, often limiting the ability of children to engage in activities essential for their development. This systematic literature review investigates the potential of combining gamification and Augmented Reality (AR) to address these challenges. Using the PRISMA framework across four major academic databases, 24 articles were selected for a comprehensive analysis to address six research questions on effectiveness, developmental impact, gamification elements, methodological rigor, accessibility, and caregiver involvement.

Findings indicate that gamified AR interventions are largely effective in enhancing engagement among children with ASD, positively influencing developmental domains such as social skills, cognitive function, and attention modulation. The effectiveness is amplified by the synergy between AR’s immersive nature and gamification elements like rewards, progress, and narrative. Methodologically, the field is characterized by diverse research designs, predominantly Mixed Methods, but with a scarcity of rigorous Randomized Controlled Trials. Furthermore, a critical lack of holistic accessibility prioritization was identified, with crucial features such as caregiver-configurable settings, text-to-speech/speech-to-text capabilities, and offline progress tracking largely overlooked. Caregiver involvement was limited to the implementation phase rather than the initial co-design process.

The review confirms the potential of gamified AR as a powerful intervention modality. To advance the field, future research must prioritize rigorous methodological designs, incorporate a holistic approach to accessibility, and actively engage caregivers in co-design. These steps are essential for developing interventions that are not only engaging but also scientifically validated, inclusive, and practical for real-world application.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Angel Gabriel Meela
AU  - Deogratias Shidende
AU  - Bonny Mgawe
AU  - Judith Leo
AU  - Sabine Moebs
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/13
TI  - A Systematic Review of Gamified Augmented Reality Interventions to Enhance Engagement for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
BT  - Proceedings of the FIREtalk Conference - Research on FIRE! (research-on-fire 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 68
EP  - 85
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_6
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_6
ID  - Meela2026
ER  -