Gaming + Autism: Study Shows Benefits of Play-Based Therapies
Leanne Chukoskie, Ph.D., of Northeastern University, and her colleagues have pioneered the use of play-based and gaze-contingent video games to probe the underlying neurocircuitry of attention and to develop novel interventions for children on the autism spectrum. As Dr. Chukoskie explains, “gaze opens a backdoor to the neurocircuitry underlying attention,” and leveraging that insight, her lab created a suite of video games that participants control entirely with their eyes. These games blend the core ingredients of play—autonomy, purpose, mastery, uncertainty, competition, and social reinforcement—into targeted exercises that not only engage but also retrain attention, perception, and inhibitory control in autistic teens and young adults.
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The Power of Play for Building Attention
Play-based relationships in early childhood teach us “where to look and find important information” in our environment; video games simply extend that principle into a digital realm — one that can be precisely measured and manipulated. In traditional play, children learn implicitly to orient to faces and gestures; Leanne’s lab showed that in a Posner-like cueing task, autistic adolescents needed 800 ms to achieve the same 90 percent accuracy that neurotypical peers achieved even with only 100 ms to process the cue. By harnessing eye-tracking to turn gaze into game controls, these video games train that crucial orienting skill through repetition, feedback, and escalating challenge.
In controlled studies of action video gaming, habitual players outperform non-gamers on measures of visual attention, spatial resolution, and working memory—showing that the intensive demands of these games generalize beyond the virtual world. For instance, Green & Bavelier (2003) demonstrated that playing fast-paced “shoot-’em-up” games modified selective attention across a range of tasks, yielding broad improvements in perceptual skills.
Leanne’s team saw parallel gains in their autism cohort:
“Playing action video games tended to have improvements over those who didn’t in perception, visual-spatial attention, movement skill, and also working memory.”
These intrinsic enhancements—perception sharpening, faster orienting, and stronger working memory—are precisely the kinds of cognitive building blocks that support social learning and everyday functioning.
Clinical Evidence: Autism-Focused Trials
Beyond lab measures, randomized controlled trials confirm that game-based interventions translate into real-world benefits for autistic children:
Social Skills Training
Beaumont et al. (2021) conducted an RCT with 7–12 year-olds on the spectrum, comparing a bespoke gaming-based social skills program (n = 35) to an active control. They found significant post-intervention gains in peer interaction, emotional understanding, and adaptive behavior, maintained at six-week follow-up.Eye-Gaze Sensitivity
The Social Games for Adolescents with Autism (SAGA) trial uses serious-game mechanics to train sensitivity to eye-gaze cues—one of the earliest indicators of social impairment in ASD. Preliminary results suggest increased attention to faces and improved comprehension of social signals after game play.Anxiety Reduction
Mindlight, an anxiety-focused video game, showed in an RCT that children with ASD exhibited clinically meaningful reductions in subclinical anxiety symptoms compared to controls, illustrating that games can also target comorbid challenges.
Furthermore, a recent systematic review of 24 studies concluded that video-game interventions for ASD produce small but consistent improvements in core symptoms—with high acceptability and adherence—highlighting their promise as scalable, home-based therapies.
Dr. Chukoskie emphasizes that the same elements that make play exciting in the playground translate directly into digital interventions:
Autonomy: “You get to pick generally what you want to do when you’re playing.”
Purpose: Clear goals like “I want to capture the treasure in the video game.”
Mastery: Repeating challenges until success—a powerful motivator.
Uncertainty: Controlled variability keeps players invested.
Competition + Reinforcement: Immediate feedback, social or game-based rewards.
By wrapping therapeutic exercises in these familiar motivational loops, video games sustain engagement far better than repetitive lab tasks or clinic visits—enabling three to five weekly home sessions that build skills without burdening families.
Looking Ahead: Integrating Gaming into Autism Support
As interventions mature, partnerships between academia, healthcare providers, and industry are critical. Companies like Akili Interactive are translating lab-proven games into FDA-regulated digital therapeutics, while organizations such as BrainLeap Technologies seek to distribute gaze-based games into schools. Early internship programs also engage neurodivergent youth in game development, revealing talents and career pathways.
The convergence of rigorous neuroscience, engaging design, and randomized trials makes video games a uniquely powerful tool for supporting individuals with autism—enhancing attention, perception, social skills, and emotional well-being.
As Dr. Chukoskie concludes,
“these games are really powerful for assessments and potential interventions…”
pointing the way toward a future where play and therapy merge seamlessly to unlock each child’s potential.
References
Green C. S., & Bavelier D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature Psychology Department
Green C. S. et al. (2014). Playing action video games substantially improves performance in a range of attentional, perceptual, and cognitive tasks. PNAS PNAS
Beaumont R., Walker H., Weiss J. et al. (2021). Randomized Controlled Trial of a Video Gaming-Based Social Skills Program for Children on the Autism Spectrum. J Autism Dev Disord SpringerLink
Scherf S. et al. (2020). Improving sensitivity to eye gaze cues in autism using serious game mechanics: The SAGA trial. BMJ Open BMJ Open
Schoneveld E. et al. (2021). Video Games for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. J Autism Dev Disord SpringerLink
Jones A. et al. (2018). Effects of the video game ‘Mindlight’ on anxiety of children with an autism spectrum disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Behav Res Ther ScienceDirect
