The effectiveness of augmented reality‐based interventions for individuals with autism and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities: A Bayesian three‐level meta‐analysis of single‐case experimental design data

A Bayesian three‐level meta‐analysis was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Augmented Reality (AR) based interventions in enhancing the domain‐specific skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Five moderators, age, gender, disorder type, AR content and skill domains, were further tested to explore the sources of heterogeneity in intervention effectiveness. A total of 28 single‐case experimental design studies with 104 individuals were included in the meta‐analysis. The results indicate that AR‐based interventions have a positive immediate effect on improving skills and that the intervention becomes increasingly effective over time. Although no strong evidence was found for the five moderators examined, patterns emerged indicating that AR interventions had the greatest immediate impact on vocational skills, followed by improvements in physical, living, academic and social skills. Additionally, females and individuals with ASD appeared to benefit more from these interventions. Overall, this study sheds light on the overall AR‐based interventions for individuals with ASD/IDD, as well as the potential moderator effects that contribute to the heterogeneity in intervention effectiveness. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic AR‐based intervention is generally effective in improving skills among individuals with special needs, including people with ASD and/or IDD. The effectiveness of the AR‐based intervention varies between individuals; the differences might be due to factors such as individual characters, skill domains, etc. What this paper adds This meta‐analysis includes data from 28 single‐case experimental design (SCED) studies, which is more than any previous SCED meta‐analyses on the topic. This meta‐analysis examined the effectiveness of AR‐based interventions in two different aspects: (1) the immediate effect at the start of the intervention and (2) whether the intervention becomes increasingly effective over time. This meta‐analysis examined both individual‐level factors (ie, age, gender, disorder type) and study‐level factors (ie, AR content type and skill domains) that may contribute to differences in intervention effectiveness across individuals and studies. Implications for practice When appropriately designed, AR‐based interventions can lead to rapid skill improvements for individuals with ASD and/or IDD. Continued intervention is likely to result in sustained improvement. When incorporating advanced technologies like AR into instructional designs, educators should be mindful of potential factors that may affect the intervention's effectiveness, such as gender and skill domains.