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Literature Review: Impacts of Video Games on the Mental Health of Kids with Autism

Over the years, pertinent research has suggested that violent video games can promote

antisocial and aggressive behavior in children (Zayeni, Raynaud, & Revet, 2020). However, be-

nign video games such as the ones, which emphasize storytelling can benefit children with con-

ditions that prevent them from effectively interacting with others. Children with autism fall into

this category. Autism is defined as a mental development disorder that results in a person having

challenges communicating or socially interacting with others, in addition to having repetitive and

restricted behavior. This paper focuses on the current research about how video games affect the

mental health of kids with autism. The available research seems to suggest that there are certain

video games, which can help children with autism to enhance their quality of life by helping

them cope with their symptoms effectively.

State of the Research

According to Zayeni, Raynaud, and Revet (2020), the use of video games in the field of

child psychiatry has developed tremendously over the past decade. They note that these games

have become effective alternatives to traditional psychotherapy techniques. To evaluate the effec-

tiveness of these games in preventing or treating psychiatric problems in children, Zayeni, Ray-

naud, and Revet (2020) carried out a study whereby they evaluated 22 studies from Medline’s

database, which were published between 2012 and 2019. 14 of them focused on serious games

while 8 focused on commercial games. Zayeni, Raynaud, and Revet (2020) concluded that even

though video games can offer an effective trajectory of child psychotherapy, there is a need to

conduct longitudinal research, which can reveal the sustained effects of the benefits gained from

these games.

An example of such games is called Mindlight. This game focuses on lowering anxiety in

children. Since kids with autism experience anxiety regularly, Wijnhoven et al. (2015) carried out

a study to investigate the effectiveness of Mindlight in reducing the anxiety-related symptoms in

kids with autism. They conducted a randomized controlled trial with experimental and control

conditions. Each of these conditions had 60 children aged between 8 and 16 years. Wijnhoven et

al. (2015) hypothesized that the children in the experimental condition would have reduced anxi-

ety levels due to playing Mindlight each week.

Edwards et al. (2017) also carried out a study to see if a sports-active video game could enhance

the object control skills of kids with autism. They investigated 11 children between the ages of 6

and 10 years. From their results, they concluded that actual skills were not improved for both the

intervention and control groups. However, they noted that perceived skills in the intervention

group were improved. Finally, Beaumont et al. (2021) researched how a video game called Se-

cret Agent Society (SAS) could enhance the social skills of kids with autism. Their experiment

involved 70 children aged 7 to 12 years. 35 of the children were made to pay the SAS game

while the rest played a caregiver-supported game aimed at enhancing their social skills. Their

results showed that the children who played the SAS video game showed more improvement in

their social skills compared to the control group.

Conclusion

This literature review has focused on the current research about how video games affect the men-

tal health of kids with autism. From the articles reviewed, it is clear that benign games greatly

improve the kids’ social skills and reduce their anxiety. However, they do not enhance their actu-

al skills relate to object control. Nevertheless, video games appear promising as a psychotherapy

option considering that standard psychotherapy is expensive for most parents. Finally, it is para-

mount that more studies are done on the long-term effects of these games on the kids to evaluate

the sustainability of the games in helping kids with autism.

References

Beaumont, R., Walker, H., Weiss, J., & Sofronoff, K. (2021). Randomized controlled trial of a

video gaming-based social skills program for children on the autism spectrum. Journal of

Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-14.

Edwards, J., Jeffrey, S., May, T., Rinehart, N. J., & Barnett, L. M. (2017). Does playing a sports

active video game improve object control skills of children with autism spectrum disor-

der? Journal of Sport and Health Science, 6(1), 17-24.

Wijnhoven, L. A., Creemers, D. H., Engels, R. C., & Granic, I. (2015). The effect of the video

game Mindlight on anxiety symptoms in children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

BMC Psychiatry, 15(1), 1-9.

Zayeni, D., Raynaud, J. P., & Revet, A. (2020). Therapeutic and preventive use of video games in

child and adolescent psychiatry: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 36.