The Contribution of Game-Based Learning: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Dyscalculia

This study investigates whether a game-based intervention can support mathematics learning and the global psychomotor, communicational, and social development of Basic Education students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or dyscalculia in Portugal. The intervention builds on Space Adventure: Defend the Planet!, an educational mathematics game developed under the GBL4deaf research project, which was transposed into psychomotricity sessions held in school gymnasiums and relaxation rooms. The work is framed by a discussion of disability policy, Portuguese inclusion legislation, and prior research on the value of digital games for students with special educational needs.

The study uses a mixed-methods design with a convenience sample of 19 children (12 boys and 7 girls, mean age 8.6 years, SD 1.8) drawn from five schools in a school cluster, with 12 weekly 45-minute sessions conducted between December 2021 and March 2022. Data collection included pre-tests of mathematical skills, communication, and language, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, the M-ABC-2 movement battery, questionnaires on technology use and inclusion support, and direct participant observation by a single evaluator who was also the intervention facilitator. Results are presented as preliminary: children showed motivation, participation, and engagement with mathematics, and co-created motor activities drawn from the game's challenges, while three detailed case studies illustrated individual progress and difficulties. Analysis of the full dataset was still in progress at the time of writing, and the design, single-observer procedure, and small convenience sample substantially limit the strength of any conclusions that can be drawn.