Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction. Although ASD is heterogeneous, its manifestations usually include difficulties in skills related to social cognition such as socio-emotional reciprocity, verbal and non-verbal communication and interpersonal relationships. Advancements in educational technology have enabled the development of specific serious games focused on improving social cognition skills in people with ASD. The main aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis to analyse whether the use of serious games based on social cognition skills impact on their enhancement in children and adolescents with ASD. Following strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 observations extracted from 5 studies were selected. The studies reported data from a total of 114 participants (M = 22.9) (SD = 7.56) with a sample sizes varying from 10 to 33. Ages were ranged from 4-18 (not all the studies reported mean age), and severity levels for ASD were mixed in already most studies. Importantly, time of use and intensity of the interventions also substantially varied among studies from four hours and a half to ten hours and intervention from 4 to 6 weeks. All the games used were focused on emotional recognition skills and verbal and non-verbal communication but only two studies used the same game. Reported data included accuracy or reaction times. The results of the meta-analysis confirmed the heterogeneity described (Q (11) = 58.3121, p <0.0001, tau² = 0.4113, I² = 80.8087%). Regardless of this heterogeneity and the limited number of studies, the results revealed a significant positive and moderate effect of serious games on the skills associated with social cognition SMD= 0.6033 (95% CI [0.1977 to 1.0089]. The results support the idea that specific technological games for students with ASD may be a useful pedagogical tool for improving their social cognition. However, it is necessary to increase research in the field to obtain more robust evidence.

Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, childhood and adolescence, social cognition, serious games.