The Effectiveness of Serious Games on Improving Problem Solving and Emotional Regulation Skills in Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sahar Saberijamal¹

1) Master of Cognitive Rehabilitation, Cognitive and Brain Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

IOI Code : ABFK-ABKHDF
Publication : The third international conference on new researches in management, law, humanities and entrepreneurship(icmlhe.ir)
Abstract :
    Autism spectrum disorder is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition that, in a subset of children, despite relatively preserved cognitive and language abilities, is associated with persistent difficulties in cognitive flexibility, planning, inhibitory control, social problem solving, and emotion regulation. These difficulties can limit academic performance, daily adjustment, peer relationships, and the child s participation in complex situations. Serious games, as digital environments designed for educational or therapeutic purposes, provide the opportunity to provide repetitive, staged, interactive, and customizable exercises and have therefore become a growing option for technological interventions for children with autism. The aim of this article is to analyze new evidence on the effectiveness of serious games on the two interconnected domains of problem solving and emotion regulation in children with autism with relatively high cognitive functioning or without significant cognitive delays. For this purpose, evidence published between 2023 and August 2026 was reviewed, with an emphasis on systematic reviews, meta-analyses, pilot studies, validation of game-based instruments, and intervention design studies. Findings indicate that digital game-like interventions at the group level are associated with significant improvements in emotional, social, and executive functions, but the magnitude of the effect varies depending on the type of game, level of interaction, age, duration of the intervention, presence of a therapist or parent, and type of outcome measure. Direct evidence for “problem solving” in the sense of actual performance in everyday situations is still more limited than evidence for its underlying components, such as working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. In the area of ​​emotion regulation, games that combine explicit strategy instruction, immediate feedback, social scenarios, and in some cases biofeedback have greater potential for generalization. The main conclusion is that serious play should not be considered a substitute for human therapy, but rather, if designed autistically, adapted to the child’s cognitive and sensory profile, accompanied by parent/therapist support, and measured transfer to home and school, can be used as a complementary component of a multimodal program. The article concludes by providing a framework for designing and evaluating game-based interventions and suggestions for future research.

Keywords : autism spectrum disorder serious games problem solving emotion regulation executive functions digital interventions children