Individuals with ASDs are often impaired in their ability mentalize. They struggle to interpret “ nonverbal … socially salient information from face, gesture, and body positions,” causing atypical social responses leading to social anxiety and social isolation (David et al, 2009; Kuusikko et al, 2009). I propose a tablet game, Keeper, for the practice of mentalization, focusing on expression recognition in context, in 9-15 year olds with Asperger Syndrome, PDD-NOS, and High Functioning Autism.
In Keeper, the player is a new guardian angel that they've personalized. In order to learn be a good guardian and grow strong, beautiful wings, they must learn to interpret the emotions of the human in their charge. This is why the player needs to decode faces in order to win the game.
The structure of social competence intervention (SCI) is employed in the design. The structure of this methodology is: a) introducing skills, b) modeling, c) skill practice in “structured and naturalistic activities,” and d) skill review (Stichter et al, 2010). Many facets of this are embedded in games, described as “situated learning” and “well-ordered problems” (Gee, 2007).
An individual with ASD can have difficulty explaining why another person is displaying an emotion (Tanaka et al, 2003). Therefore, during the game, the player is responsible for a Non Playable Character (NPC). The player decodes his/her emotions in real-time, and watches them for changes in facial expressions and body language. The NPC reacts to Shadows. In Keeper, the player must watch the NPC to decide whether a Shadow is dangerous or not. If they are dangerous, the player makes them disappear. If the player erases them and the NPC likes them, then the NPC loses Friendship, which the player uses to grow stronger wings. The wings are an extrinsic reward and scaffolding. Wing growth increases challenge because the player can fly farther from their charge. Facial expressions become harder to read and body language enters the equation, transitioning a player between levels.
The angel has access to an Expression Codex. They can draw the face they see on their charge, and it will reference similar faces so they can find out what emotion they are displaying. These faces display in video panorama format. They also can browse faces using simple icons. As autism is heterogeneous, it is important to offer different ways for individuals to access helpful information. Parents can add to the Codex.
A Save feature is imperative. Upon return to the game, a review level is completed before returning to the main game. This level must also be completed between levels before moving on to new material.
The game must push learning into everyday socialization for generalization. After playing, the player takes their angel anywhere with them on the tablet. The angel prompts them to interpret the emotions of real people, using the Codex, and follow the steps they learn in-game. When the individual does this, they receive additional points for the game and help their angel grow.
No comments:
Post a Comment