The Use of Augmented Reality Interventions to Provide Academic Instruction for Children with Autism, Intellectual, and Developmental Disabilities: an Evidence-Based Systematic Review

The purpose of this systematic review of literature was to synthesize research on interventions that used augmented reality (AR) to teach academic skills to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Eight studies published between 2007 and 2020 were included in the synthesis. These studies targeted mostly literacy (n = 3), science (n = 2), mathematics (n = 2), and collateral academic skills (n = 1). The information regarding participants, the AR-based intervention, and supplemental strategies used with the intervention, skills, and study characteristics were synthesized. We also evaluated the studies for design characteristics and strength of evidence per Reichow et al. (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,38, 1311-1319, Reichow et al., Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 38:1311-1319, 2008) guidelines. The findings suggest that at this time, AR-based interventions do not meet the criteria to be classified as an evidence-based practice to teach academic skills to students with ASD and IDD.