Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Serious Games
Date Submitted: Mar 31, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Apr 2, 2024 - May 28, 2024
Date Accepted: Sep 11, 2024
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Use of serious games in the intervention of executive functions in neurodiverse children: Systematic review.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Neurodiversity encompasses diverse variations in human cognitive development, presenting challenges in executive functions (EF) that affect daily functioning and social engagement. This review explores the potential of serious games (SG) as interventions to enhance EF across neurodiverse populations.
Objective:
This review aims to analyze the interconnected themes of neurodiversity, EF, and SG. We investigate the potential of SG interventions for enhancing EF across the neurodiversity spectrum.
Methods:
As of June 20, 2024, a thorough search was conducted on Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and PubMed, covering SG, EF, and neurodiversity. Due to limited results, separate searches were conducted to explore the relationship between serious games and neurodiversity, as well as between serious games and executive functions. Two independent reviewers evaluated the retrieved studies, highlighting specific game applications in the neurodiverse context.
Results:
The analysis of 16 studies revealed that 15 addressed SG interventions for executive functions within neurodiversity, while 3 focused specifically on Down syndrome. The studies collectively emphasized serious games' effectiveness in enhancing cognitive development and overall quality of life for individuals within the neurodiverse condition.
Conclusions:
The synthesis of findings suggests that serious games can improve cognitive abilities and promote inclusion in educational settings for individuals with diverse cognitive profiles. Game design elements demonstrate the ability to enhance cognition and skill development. Positive effects in executive functions have been observed in neurodiverse children. However, further research is needed to explore long-term effects, optimize game design, and assess their impact on several aspects of neurodiversity.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.