Table A1.
Main characteristics of the studies reviewed: authors, sample size, gender distribution, age range, mean age, sample characteristics, and task information (n = 19).
| Ref. | Sample Size | Groups | Gender Distribution | Age Range and Mean Age (SD) | Sample Characteristics | Task Information (and Duration if Available) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [14] | 3 | 1 experimental group | NR | NR | Children with diagnosis of autism | Labyrinth game: item manipulation task |
| [15] | 12 |
2 groups Control group: 6 participants organized in 3 TD/TD couples Experimental group: 6 participants organized in 3 ASD/TD couples |
83% male |
Range = NR Control group: Mage = 9.99 (0.87) Experimental group: Mage ASD = 11.70 (2.24); Mage TD = 11.09 (1.19) |
Children with ASD and typically developing children | Collaborative games: puzzle, collection, delivery games (5 min playtime in pre-test; less than 5 min in post-test) |
| [16] | 24 |
2 groups Control group: 6 ASD/TD couples Experimental group: 6 ASD/TD couples |
NR |
Control group: Range = NR Mage ASD = 12.38 (2.60); Mage TD = 12.60 (2.66); Experimental group: Mage ASD = 12.12 (3.59); Mage TD = 13.15 (3.77) |
Children with ASD and typically developing children | Collaborative games: puzzle, collection, delivery games |
| [23] | 60 |
2 groups Control group: 37 cognitively intact participants; Experimental group: 23 cognitively impaired participants |
Control group: 70.3% female; Experimental group: 65.2% female |
Range = 65–85; Group 1: Mage = 70.7 (3.6); Group 2: Mage = 73.2 (5.4) |
Elderly with and without cognitive impairment from a public primary care clinic in Singapore |
Activities of daily living: opening door with correct key and passcode number; making a phone call recalling a number; identifying items from different categories in a newspaper; sorting things in a room; picking appropriate outfit for occasion; withdrawing cash from automated teller machine; shopping at provision shop (Average time to complete the task of 19.1 min (3.6) in control group; average time of 20.4 (3.4) time in experimental group) |
| [34] | 20 |
2 groups Control group: 10 healthy children Experimental group: 10 children with ADHD |
Group 1: 60% male; Group 2: 60% male |
Range = 7–12; Mage = NR |
Children with and without ADHD |
Matching game: color-matching association of geometric figures and boxes (Three attempts in a week, average time of 16.56 min in experimental group; average time of 13.54 min in control group) |
| [35] | 3 | (Multiple probe design across participants) | 100% male |
Range = 6–7 Mage = NR |
First-grade students diagnosed with ASD (1 in mild and 2 in moderate range) from an elementary school in Beijing |
Match-to-sample task (20 pre-experimental training trials per session every day, 10–15 min each session. Five seconds to provide response in the intervention phase) |
| [36] | 4 |
1 experimental group (Adapted alternating treatment design. Two conditions—CAI and TII—were alternated with each student each day) |
75% male |
Range = 9–11; Mage = NR |
Fourth-grade students with different diagnosis (2 severe autism and mild intellectual disability, 1 Down’s syndrome and mild intellectual disability, 1 moderate intellectual disability) from a Chinese special education school |
Match-to-sample task (20 pre-experimental training trials for each condition, 10–15 min each session. Five seconds to provide response in the intervention phase) |
| [37] | 3 | (Single subject research design) | 66.66% male |
Range = 9–11; Mage = NR |
Students with severe autism from a special needs school in Beijing |
Matching game: color-matching balls to boxes and fruits to sticks (Three-week experiment, half an hour a day for five days a week) |
| [38] | 2 | Single subject research design | 50% male |
Range = 9–10; Mage = NR |
Third-grade students with severe autism from a special school in Beijing |
Matching game: color-matching balls to boxes and fruits to sticks (30 min every day) |
| [39] |
Study 1: 5 (+ parents) Study 2: 5 (+ teachers) |
1 experimental group for each of the two studies | 100% male | Range = NR; Study 1: Mage = 4.8 (1.8); Study 2: Range = NR; Mage = 6.3 (2.4) |
Study 1: Children with diagnosis of autism and their family members; Study 2: Children with diagnosis of autism; They all came from a Chinese Children’s Educational Development Center |
Drawing game (playtime of 15 min); Word-image pairing in zoo and home interactive game |
| [40] |
Study 1: 5 (+ parents) Study 2: 5 (+ teachers) Study 3: 9 |
1 experimental group for each of the two studies |
Study 1, 2 = 100% male Study 3: 55.5% male |
Range = NR; Study 1: Mage = 4.8 (1.8); Study 2: Range = NR; Mage = 6.3 (2.4); Study 3: Mage = 8.1 (3.4) |
Study 1: Children with diagnosis of autism and their family members; Study 2: Children with diagnosis of autism; Study 3: Children with diagnosis of autism (1 also with ADHD, 5 with highly functioning ASD, 4 with low functioning ASD) |
Drawing game (15 min of play); Word-image pairing in zoo and home interactive game; Drum playing game |
| [41] | 2 | 2 groups Experimental group 1: 1 Experimental group 2: 1 |
NR | NR | Participants with similar characteristics as children with autism (1 with better motor skills but focus issues; 1 with motor impairment) |
Matching games; Sign recognition task; Eye gazing task (Three sessions of training for each game) |
| [42] | NR | 1 experimental group | NR |
Range = 9–12; Mage = NR |
Typically developing children |
Avatar greeting task (Two sessions, 20 min per session) |
| [43] | 10 | 1 experimental group (Virtual-based and performance-based assessment were done on each participant in parallel) |
NR | NR | Healthy adults without diagnosis of cognitive impairment | Lunch box packing task |
| [44] | 16 | 1 experimental group | 68.7% male | Range = 65–72 Mage = 68 (2.76) | Elderly without experience in playing video games from a University Hospital in Tokyo (NR diagnosis) | Table preparation task |
| [45] | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | Shopping task |
| [46] | 223 |
Control group: 71 Experimental group 1: 65 Experimental group 2: 42 Experimental group 3: 45 |
56% female |
Range = NR; Mage = 72.73 (6.89) |
Elderly people from two Alzheimer day clinics in Greece (71 healthy elderly, 65 elderly with amnestic single-domain MCI, 42 elderly with amnestic multi-domain MCI, 45 elderly with mild Alzheimer’s dementia) |
Finger-tapping test in in a fire evacuation task (As fast as user could for 15 s) |
| [47] | 205 |
Control group: 72 Experimental group 1: 65 Experimental group 2: 68 |
57% female |
Range = NR Mage = 72.73 (6.89) |
Elderly people from two Alzheimer day clinics in Greece (72 healthy elderly, 65 elderly with amnestic MCI, 68 elderly with mild Alzheimer’s disease) |
Finger-tapping test in a fire evacuation task (As fast as user could for 15 s) |
| [48] | 19 | 1 experimental group | 66.7% male |
Range = NR Mage = 10.88 (3.14) |
Children (NR diagnosis) | Mathematical operations |
Note: NR = not reported; ADHD = attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; ASD = autism spectrum disorder; CAI = computer-assisted instruction; TII = teacher-implemented instruction; MCI = mild cognitive impairment; TD = typically developing.