Considering that autism is a cognitive condition, distinct therapies for good mental health are the need of the hour. As the first step towards fusing autism studies with iPad gaming, professionals from the University of Edinburgh have collaborated on an app designed to enhance socializing skills of kids affected by autism.
The team believed that children as young as 18 months old can also benefit by the facility. This game titled FindMe revolves around a simple gameplay, where children have to locate onscreen characters in various incidences. Gamers have to simply touch the main character to reach the next and more challenging level.
“Children with autism are often adept with computers. Thanks to the iPad’s touchscreen we can now create games for very young children with autism, when it may benefit them most. We hope our app will be helpful to both children with autism and their families,” commented Dr Sue Fletcher-Watson, Nuffield Foundation New Career Development Fellow.
As the game moves ahead, children have to compete with more characters on screen. Basically, the game aims to help players understand other people and their wishes, which is usually a concern for individuals suffering from autism.
Higher versions will look into other aspects of autism like inability to follow a finger pointed at a particular thing or comprehending what someone is viewing. To spread the game worldwide, the onscreen character has been optimized to speak in various languages like French, English and German in US as well as UK accents.
Developers are hopeful that the game will help children develop basic socializing abilities prior to entering school. This initiative is the first part of Click East, a series of studies at the University of Edinburgh to help individuals affected by autism.