title: Emotion recognition training in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review of challenges related to generalizability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the generalizability of findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating emotion recognition (ER) training for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
  
  
  METHODS
  We present a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the determinants of external validity in RCTs on ER training. Generalizability of the findings across situations, populations, settings, treatment delivery, and intervention formats was considered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 13 eligible studies. Participants were predominantly boys with ASD in the normative IQ range (IQ > 70), with an age span from 4 to 18 years across studies. Interventions and outcome measures were highly variable. Several studies indicated that training may improve ER, but it is still largely unknown to what extent training effects are translated to daily social life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The generalizability of findings from currently available RCTs remains unclear. This underscores the importance of involving children with ASD and their caregivers in informed treatment decisions.
authors.affiliation: a Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.|b Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center of Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berggren
authors.affiliation: c Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh , UK.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fletcher-Watson
authors.affiliation: a Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Milenkovic
authors.affiliation: a Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.|d Institute of Physiology, Research Unit iDN (Interdisciplinary Developmental Neuroscience), Medical University of Graz , Graz , Austria.
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Marschik
authors.affiliation: a Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.|b Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center of Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bölte
authors.affiliation: a Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet (KIND), Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.|b Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center of Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council , Stockholm , Sweden.|e Department of Neuroscience , Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Jonsson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D066107:Social Skills
keywords: Asperger syndrome; autism; child psychiatry; emotion; intervention; neurodevelopmental disorders; technology training