Boys with autism spend almost twice as much time playing video games as typical boys do. And many common game features — including predefined ‘roles’ and goals, and a repetitiveness between levels — seem to mesh well with autism traits, such as social difficulties and a preference for routine, says Micah Mazurek, a UVA associate professor of education. “If we are finding that kids with autism are especially drawn to technology,” he says, “why not try to leverage that interest to design interventions?”