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Can AI-driven games enhance social skills for autistic children? — A three-level meta-analysis
- Truvace record
- TRV-2026-2744raw data (JSON)
- Version
- v1Published
- First published
- Evidence type
- Systematic review or meta-analysis
- Sources
- 1 sourcePeer-reviewed
- sha256
- dadcc8cd1e04…check it
Background Gamified interventions for autistic children are becoming increasingly diverse, enhancing their presence, immersion, and sense of accomplishment to improve various social skill indicators. Existing systematic reviews have primarily evaluated intervention effectiveness from the perspectives of game design and intervention objectives. However, these findings are inconsistent and fail to inspect specific improvements in social skills among autistic children. Methods To address this gap, this study adopts…
61Gain side
How the two sides scoreClose call
57Problem side
The gain
A meta-analysis of 14 studies (37 effect sizes) found AI-driven games improved autistic children's social skills by a moderate amount (Hedges' g = 0.511, 95% CI 0.346 to 0.677), with the largest gain (g = 0.963) for games targeting attention and social skills together.
The problem
In the same meta-analysis of 14 AI-game studies for autistic children, games aimed at anxiety and at real-world interaction skills showed effects well below the overall moderate gain, and neurofeedback-based games had a small, non-significant effect (g = 0.199).
A fixed formula sets both scores from the evidence and its sources. Reader votes don’t move them.
What the scores mean
G is the gain side, out of 100. It goes up when the gain is specific, when it measurably helped people and when the sources behind it are strong.
P is the problem side, out of 100. It goes up when the problem is specific, when it measurably hurt people and when the sources behind it are strong.
What this doesn’t fix
Only 14 studies were included, designs ranged from randomized trials to single-group pre-post studies, heterogeneity was significant, and the authors describe the moderation analysis as exploratory and underpowered; behavioral observation measures may carry assessor bias.
Sources
1 on file- Frontiers in Psychologydoi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1847426
What the review found when it combined the studies
These are the review’s own pooled results, copied from its abstract. Truvace did not recalculate them.
Emotion recognition and expression in autistic children after AI-driven games
Hedges' g 0.536 (95% CI 0.221 to 0.850)
14 studies · search to March 2026
The review’s own words
An effect size analysis for different intervention targets showed that, with emotional recognition and expression (DE) as the baseline, the effect size was g = 0.536 (95% CI: 0.221, 0.850, p < 0.01), indicating that AI-driven games produce a moderate and significant effect on this target.
Social skills of autistic children after AI-driven gamified interventions
Hedges' g 0.511 (95% CI 0.346 to 0.677)
14 studies · search to March 2026
The review’s own words
The overall effect size of AI-driven gamified interventions on the social skills of autistic children was Hedges’g = 0.511 (95% CI [0.346, 0.677], p < 0.001), indicating a moderate positive effect.
Social skills of autistic children after AI-driven games, excluding pre-post studies
Hedges' g 0.552 (95% CI 0.310 to 0.795)
14 studies · search to March 2026
The review’s own words
The pooled effect size estimate changed from 0.511 (95% CI: 0.346–0.6767, p < 0.001) to 0.552 (95% CI: 0.310–0.795, p = 0.0001).
Combined attention and social skills in autistic children after AI-driven games
Hedges' g 0.963 (95% CI 0.165 to 1.760)
14 studies · search to March 2026
The review’s own words
Studies targeting the dual development of attention and social skills (DA + DS) showed a large effect size ( g = 0.963, 95% CI [0.165, 1.760]).
Code checks every number above against the review’s text before it is shown. The short labels are an AI model’s reading of that text, so the review’s own sentence sits under each one. A pooled figure is only as strong as the studies behind it. How Truvace uses pooled results
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v1Truvace Impact Record TRV-2026-2744, v1: “Can AI-driven games enhance social skills for autistic children? — A three-level meta-analysis.” Truvace, 2026-11-12. /record/TRV-2026-2744 (accessed on the day you copy it). sha256 dadcc8cd1e041b94…
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