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SMART-games: a video game intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Published: 09 June 2010 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper, we describe the design of a preliminary prototype and pilot results of the SMART-Games suite, a video game intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). The prototype, consisting of a stuffed animal game controller with an on-screen video game, emphasizes empathy and related social skills. The proposed design aims to accommodate users across the autism spectrum through adaptive modules focused on core deficits: sensory and motor skills, imitation and turn-taking, joint attention and theory of mind. Response from the preliminary pilot suggests that the application appeals to the target audience and further development is underway.

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  • (2025)Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis of Digital Games for Cognitive Enhancement in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Toward a Conceptual FrameworkCognitive Computation10.1007/s12559-024-10395-w17:1Online publication date: 31-Jan-2025
  • (2024)Interactive Multi-Sensory Environment (iMSE) Design To Support Social Engagement For Visually Impaired (VI) Children In ChinaProceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference10.1145/3628516.3659856(980-983)Online publication date: 17-Jun-2024
  • (2023)Serious Games for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature ReviewInternational Journal of Human–Computer Interaction10.1080/10447318.2023.219405140:14(3655-3682)Online publication date: 11-Apr-2023
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        cover image ACM Other conferences
        IDC '10: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
        June 2010
        389 pages
        ISBN:9781605589510
        DOI:10.1145/1810543
        Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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        Published: 09 June 2010

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        Author Tags

        1. autism
        2. children
        3. therapy
        4. video games
        5. virtual reality

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        View all
        • (2025)Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis of Digital Games for Cognitive Enhancement in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Toward a Conceptual FrameworkCognitive Computation10.1007/s12559-024-10395-w17:1Online publication date: 31-Jan-2025
        • (2024)Interactive Multi-Sensory Environment (iMSE) Design To Support Social Engagement For Visually Impaired (VI) Children In ChinaProceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference10.1145/3628516.3659856(980-983)Online publication date: 17-Jun-2024
        • (2023)Serious Games for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature ReviewInternational Journal of Human–Computer Interaction10.1080/10447318.2023.219405140:14(3655-3682)Online publication date: 11-Apr-2023
        • (2022)Design and Evaluation of an Exergaming System for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Children’s and Families’ PerspectiveFrontiers in Virtual Reality10.3389/frvir.2022.8173033Online publication date: 13-Apr-2022
        • (2022)Integrating Gamification into Middle School Mathematics Curriculum: Game-Based Learning Approach in NamibiaInternational Journal of Operations Management10.18775/ijom.2757-0509.2020.24.40012:4(7-19)Online publication date: Nov-2022
        • (2022)How are games for autistic children being evaluated?Proceedings of the 21st Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3554364.3559127(1-13)Online publication date: 17-Oct-2022
        • (2022)Designing a Virtual Reality Empathy Game framework to create empathic experiences for childrenInternational Journal of Child-Computer Interaction10.1016/j.ijcci.2022.100561(100561)Online publication date: Dec-2022
        • (2019)Using a motion‐controlled game to teach four elementary school children with intellectual disabilities to improve hand hygieneJournal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities10.1111/jar.1258732:4(942-951)Online publication date: 2-Apr-2019
        • (2018)Using game technology to teach six elementary school children with autism to take a shower independentlyDevelopmental Neurorehabilitation10.1080/17518423.2018.150177822:5(329-337)Online publication date: 30-Jul-2018
        • (2017)The role of context in psychosocial stress among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Piloting a semi-structured, videogame-based paradigmJournal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability10.3109/13668250.2017.131082443:1(20-28)Online publication date: 28-May-2017
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