Using extended reality as a tool for creating activities for autistic students

Purpose To analyze the characteristics of the activities undertaken by autistic students through the use of extended reality (XR). Design/methodology/approach The databases Web of Science and Scopus were selected from which 78 documents were obtained. These were filtered using inclusion and exclusion criteria, in combination with the PRISMA methodology. Findings It was found that 29.54% of the studies focused on the use of XR in school settings, where the user must learn to ask for help or initiate a conversation with teachers or peers. The second most common type of activity conducted through XR was exergaming, accounting for 28.20% of the studies, involving tasks in which users imitate gestures such as waving to engage in social interaction. The third most frequently addressed domain involved emotion recognition and vocabulary acquisition, which appeared in 25.64% of the studies. Originality/value The contribution of this study lies in its in-depth analysis of the features of activities carried out through XR by autistic students. In this way, it becomes possible to identify the most suitable technological tool depending on the type of activity to be implemented.