Table 3.

Characteristics of the interventions performed in the included studies

Author, year	Participants and diagnosis	NT	Interventions	Duration (w)	Sessions	Intervention managers	Main results
Josman et al. (2008)	12, ASD and TD	Computer	IG: Street-crossing desktop virtual environment (VE). 9 stages. The VE was designed as a typical four-lane divided street, had two types of cross walks, one with a pedestrian island and one with a traffic light CG: Same as IG	NS	IG: One- to two-weekly 10-to 30-min sessions CG: one 45-min session	OTs	Low number of sessions to successfully complete the 9 stages needed in IG vs CG (p < 0.01) Higher task performance in post- vs pre- IG scores (p < 0.01)
Cosper et al. (2009)	12, ADHD, CDD and ASD	Computer	Interactive Metronome. Non-invasive PC-based technique to practice the timing and rhythmicity of various movement combinations of the hands and feet in response to auditory cues	15	One-weekly 1-h sessions	OTs	Increase in complex visual choice reaction time (p < 0.05), in visuomotor control (p = 0.02), in UL balance and coordination (p = 0.06) and in UL speed (p = 0.07), in post-vs pre- intervention
Lo et al. (2009)	4, ASD and UN	Computer	Racing Game tray. Interactive game over a weight-sensitive tray surface. The tray surface recognizes and follows the child's natural eating actions in real time. When the child completes the meal, the game ends. Playful Toothbrush. Interactive game into a brushing activity. The game starts with a virtual image of uncleaned teeth, when the child finishes cleaning all his or her teeth, the virtual teeth become completely white and an applause sound plays	4	One-daily session. Duration NS	OTs	33% reduction in meal duration and 20% reduction in non-food related behaviors in post-vs pre- intervention Increase in cleaning effect (from 32 to 67%.) and in the average number of brushing strokes (from 190 to 248) in post-vs pre- intervention
Gentry et al. (2010)	22, ASD	Another NT (PDA)	Software Palm® Desktop was used onto the computer where calendar entries and alarms are entered and transferred to the PDA via USB. They added medication schedules, homework, household chores and other calendar items to the PDA, adding a reminder alarm to each	6	One-weekly 60- to 90- min sessions	OTs	Increase in performance and satisfaction with performance of everyday life tasks (p < 0.001) in post-vs pre- intervention
Wuang et al. (2010)	60, ASD	Another NT (Simulated program)	Simulated Developmental Horse-Riding Program. Joba® is an exercise equipment that simulates the movements during real horseback riding, for the improvement of motor and sensory integration functions. A intervention plan was especially designed for each child that incorporated activities compatible with the child’s interest and current motor function	40	Two-weekly 1-h sessions	OTs	Increase in motor function (p < 0.0001) and sensory integration (p < 0.0001) in post- vs pre- intervention
Palsbo and Hood-Szivek (2012)	18, ASD, ADHD, PDD, ID, APD, CP and UN	Another NT (Robot)	Robotic-guided three-dimensional repetitive fine motion training to improve handwriting. My Scrivener haptic interface device. During sessions 10-min review of the letters and numbers, 10 min with robot-assisted glyph formation and 10 min on the workbook lesson were offered	4–6	Three- to five-weekly 30-min sessions	OTs and research professor	Improvement in motor control percentiles (from 29 to 42, p < 0.10) in post- vs pre- intervention Improvement in consistency of glyph formation in 10 children (p < 0.10) in post- vs pre- intervention
Lee et al. (2013)	2, ASD	Computer	Concepts on the Move-Basic and Concepts on the Move 2-Advanced software. to improve visual-perceptual skills. The participants chose three of the nine items for each of the five categories, such as colors, sizes or shapes, yielding 15 permutations per session	6	Two-weekly 30-min sessions	OTs	Improvement in motor-reduced visual-perceptual skills in post- vs pre- intervention. (p value NS)
Janeslätt et al. (2014)	47, ADDH, ASD, CP, ID and SB	Another NT (PDA)	IG: Received at least one-time aids for daily time management, based on devices that make the time passing visible CG: Received intervention as usual during their waiting-list time. During intervention they received the same intervention as IG	NS	Two- to five weekly 1- to 2-h sessions	OTs and special educator	Increase in time processing ability (p < 0.05).in IG vs CG
Lorah et al. (2014)	3, ASD	iPad™	Proloqu2Go app as a speech generating device for the acquisition of a tact (labeling) repertoire. A small plastic toy dog, a small ball, a standard size crayon and a children's book were used as stimuli during training	NS	One-daily sessions. Duration NS	OTs	Improvement in the acquisition of a tact repertoire and in the discrimination between the acquired sentence frames (p value NS)
Campbell et al. (2015)	3, ASD and PDD	Computer	Video modeling intervention using a handheld device (Sylvania HD Video Mp4 Player) to teach hand washing. The video was elaborated by 13-step task analysis	4	NS	OTs	Increased levels of handwashing skill and independence in post- vs pre- intervention (p value NS)
Chen et al. (2015)	3, ASD	Computer	Training emotional judgments and social skills through 3D Augmented Reality Self-Facial Modeling system. Participants read the scenario script and looked at the corresponding illustrations on the monitor screen to select one of the six basic emotional masks to wear	6	One-weekly 1-h sessions	OTs	Improvement in emotional and expression recognition in post- vs pre- intervention (p < 0.05)
Meister and Salls (2015)	8, ASD	iPad™	Video intervention to improve self-help skills. A video was created demonstrating each step of the target activity, and included simple step-by-step verbal directions. The iMovie and VideoTote applications were used	6	Two-weekly 10-to 25- min sessions	OTs	Improvement of 50.5% in post- vs pre- intervention (p value NS)
Gal et al. (2016)	14, ASD	Computer	StoryTable (ST) application. Intervention based on a collaborative narrative tabletop interface to improve social skills. Children were teaching in different aspect of social interaction, such as sharing, negotiating and receiving and providing help. Then, children were asked to narrate a joint story using the ST functions	3	Three- to four- 45-min sessions	OTs	Increase in positive social interactions (p = 0.004) and collaborative play (p = 0.007) in post- vs pre- intervention Decrease in negative social interaction (p = 0.05) in post- vs pre- intervention
Henning et al. (2016)	10 ASD and TD	Computer	Play-based intervention to improve social play interactions. Video feedback and play in the clinic which consisted of watching an episode of the DVD, discussing what they had seen and arranging a weekly play date with the playmate	7	9-weekly sessions. Duration NS	OTs	Improvements in the mean ToP score from 39.8 to 54.1 in post- vs pre- intervention
Ikuta et al. (2016)	21, ASD	Another NT (Earmuffs and Noise-cancelled headphones)	Intervention through standard earmuffs and noise-cancelled headphones in controlling behavioral problems related to hyper-reactivity to auditory stimuli	6	NS	OTs	Higher effectiveness of intervention score for the earmuff period than that for the control period (p = 0.006) There were no significant differences between the noise-cancelled headphone period and the control period (p = 0.91), and between the earmuff period and noise-cancelled headphone period (p = 0.67)
Lee et al. (2016)	6, ASD	Computer	Intervention using Applied Cliplets‑based half‑dynamic videos. Children had to selected the basic facial expression that they thought best reflected the feelings of the character in the video and one of six adjectives to answer each question, and received corrective feedback from the therapist	6	One-weekly 1-h sessions	OTs	High correct assessment rates of all the participants in post- vs pre- intervention (p < 0.05)
Hatfield et al. (2017)	94, ASD	Computer	IG: Autism specific online program The Better OutcOmes & Successful Transitions for Autism. This program consisted of four modules delivered via a website that is accessed by an individual login CG: Regular practice at their respective schools. This may have included any generic transition planning processes utilized at the school	48	NS	OTs	There were no significant differences between IG and CG, in self-determination according to AIR comparing pre- and post-intervention for adolescents (p = 0.19) Improvement in career exploration (p = 0.01) in IG vs CG
Hochhauser et al. (2018)	61, ASD	Computer	IG: CONTACT, computer application that uses video modeling and video self-modeling to address conflict resolution skills CG: no intervention	6	One-weekly 60-min sessions	OTs and researchers	Improvements in self-confidence (p = 0.02), communication (p = 0.003) and negotiation skills (p ≤ 0.001) in IG vs CG
Lamash and Josman (2021)	56, ASD	Computer	IG: Metacognitive intervention combined with practice in a virtual supermarket. Virtual Action Planning-Supermarket (VAP-S) software was used. VAP-S simulates a regular supermarket, including selecting products according to a list that appears on the computer monitor, paying and exiting the supermarket CG: Standard OT intervention to promote a shopping task	8	8-weekly 45-min sessions	OTs	Improvements in the duration of the shopping task performance (p < 0.05), redundant entrances (p < 0.05), accuracy (p < 0.001) and total strategy use (p < 0.05) in IG vs CG
Parsons et al. (2019)	59, ASD	iPad™	IG: Therapy Outcomes by You (TOBY) iPad app, with four major skills areas: (1) visual motor; (2) imitation; (3) language; and (4) social CG: Usual therapy and iPad without the TOBY app installed	12	One-daily 20-min sessions	OTs and pshycologists	Increase in the sub-scale of receptive language (p = 0.039) in the MSEL, social (p < 0.001) and symbolic subdomains (p = 0.001) of the CSBS, in post- vs pre- intervention

ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, APD auditory processing disorder, ASD autism spectrum disorder, CDD developmental coordination disorder, CG control group, CP cerebral palsy, CSBS Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales, ID intellectual disability, IG intervention group, MSEL Mullen Scales of early learning, NA not applicable, NT new technology, NS not stated, OTs occupational therapists, PDA personal digital assistant, PDD pervasive developmental disorder, SB spina bifida, TD typical development, ToP test of playfulness, UL upper limb, UN undiagnosed, w weeks