  With the rising prevalence of autism diagnoses, it is essential for research
to understand how to leverage technology to support the diverse nature of
autistic traits. While traditional interventions focused on technology for
medical cure and rehabilitation, recent research aims to understand how
technology can accommodate each unique situation in an efficient and engaging
way. Extended reality (XR) technology has been shown to be effective in
improving attention in autistic users given that it is more engaging and
motivating than other traditional mediums. Here, we conducted a systematic
review of 59 research articles that explored the role of attention in XR
interventions for autistic users. We systematically analyzed demographics,
study design and findings, including autism screening and attention measurement
methods. Furthermore, given methodological inconsistencies in the literature,
we systematically synthesize methods and protocols including screening tools,
physiological and behavioral cues of autism and XR tasks. While there is
substantial evidence for the effectiveness of using XR in attention-based
interventions for autism to support autistic traits, we have identified three
principal research gaps that provide promising research directions to examine
how autistic populations interact with XR. First, our findings highlight the
disproportionate geographic locations of autism studies and underrepresentation
of autistic adults, evidence of gender disparity, and presence of individuals
diagnosed with co-occurring conditions across studies. Second, many studies
used an assortment of standardized and novel tasks and self-report assessments
with limited tested reliability. Lastly, the research lacks evidence of
performance maintenance and transferability.
