{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T03:33:04Z","timestamp":1777001584728,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,20]],"date-time":"2024-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1708387200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["2020.01866.CEECIND"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020.01866.CEECIND"]}]},{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["UIDB\/00214\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/00214\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Healthcare"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Serious games represent a promising avenue for intervention with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by persistent challenges in social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors. Despite this potential, comprehensive reviews on this subject are scarce. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of serious games and their specific characteristics in enhancing social skills among children and adolescents with autism. Employing PICO strategies and adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we screened 149 studies initially identified through PubMed and EBSCOhost databases. Nine studies met inclusion criteria and found a positive influence of serious games on social skills and related domains, encompassing emotion recognition\/encoding\/decoding, emotional regulation, eye gaze, joint attention, and behavioral skills. Nevertheless, despite these promising results, the limited available evidence underscores the need for rigorous study designs to consolidate findings and integrate evidence-based intervention strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare12050508","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,20]],"date-time":"2024-02-20T11:50:07Z","timestamp":1708429807000},"page":"508","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Serious Games for Developing Social Skills in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-1653-168X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"T\u00e2nia","family":"Carneiro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Linguistics, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-9514-413X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Carvalho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology, Education, and Sports, Lus\u00f3fona University, 4000-098 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6102-0772","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00f3nia","family":"Frota","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Linguistics, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8612-225X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marisa G.","family":"Filipe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Linguistics, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"American Psychiatric Association (2022). 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