Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42042244›Full record

ArticleJournal of Intelligence2026

The Effectiveness of an Augmented Reality-Based Early Intervention Program Using Interactive Games to Enhance Eye Contact as a Nonverbal Communication Skill in Children with Autism: A Single-Case Experimental Design.

Shoeb Saleh, Rommel AlAli

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of Intelligence, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Shoeb SalehThe National Research Centre for Giftedness and Creativity, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
Rommel AlAliThe National Research Centre for Giftedness and Creativity, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0001-7375-4856

Funding

Deanship of Scientific Research, King Faisal University Grant No KFUxxxxx
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit marked impairments in nonverbal communication, particularly in eye contact, which serves as a foundational element for social interaction and relational development. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an early intervention program utilizing interactive games supported by Augmented Reality (AR) technology to enhance eye contact behaviors, specifically initiation and maintenance, in children with autism. Using a multiple baseline across participants single-case experimental design, four boys (aged 5-7 years) diagnosed with ASD participated in an 8-week intervention at a specialized center in Saudi Arabia. The intervention featured tablet-based, gamified AR tasks incorporating real-time visual feedback, graduated difficulty levels, and reinforcement mechanisms designed to elicit social gaze and sustained eye contact. Eye contact duration and frequency were measured during structured social interactions via systematic direct observation. The results demonstrated significant improvements across all participants, with the mean duration of eye contact increasing from a baseline of 2.0 s to 5.8 s post-intervention. Visual analysis revealed robust treatment effects, further supported by substantial Tau-U effect sizes (range = 0.89-0.96; M = 0.93). Follow-up data collected three weeks post-intervention confirmed the maintenance of gains for three of the four participants. These findings suggest that AR-based interventions provide an effective and culturally responsive approach for enhancing specific nonverbal communication behaviors among children with autism in Middle Eastern contexts. Implications for clinical practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Indexed as

augmented realityautism spectrum disorderearly interventioneye contactnon-verbal communicationSaudi Arabiasingle-case design

Identifiers

PMID42042244
PMCPMC13118226

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.