Video games that require teamwork could be used to improve the social skills of children with autism.
It’s a simple idea that makes a lot of sense, but University of South Carolina researcher Roger Newman-Norlund has had trouble landing grants to pay for a study of the concept.
So Newman-Norlund is taking an unusual approach — crowd-funding. He set up a Kickstarter account and a web site, www.mymoneymyscience.com, that explains the basis for his work. His goal is to raise $150,000 in two months.
“Every year, we would try to apply for government grants and we would get shot down,” said Newman-Norlund, director of USC’s Perceptual Motor Development Laboratory. “The government doesn’t think it’s important, so why not go to the people who do think it’s important?”
He suspects that will be parents of children with autism and people who work to help those children.
Autism is a mental condition that often leads to poor language and social skills. People with autism cover a wide spectrum — from those who struggle to function on their own to those who simply seem a little quirky. What they all have in common is their brains are wired differently than most people.
With the rise in autism diagnoses — from 1 in 150 children in the U.S. in 2000 to 1 in 68 in a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — researchers are focusing on early intervention to improve the lives of those children.
Newman-Norlund had done post-doctoral work in Europe on a project to teach robots social recognition. “I thought, ‘How can I apply this to something that can be helpful in society?’ and I thought of autism,” Newman-Norlund said.
The teaching process involves playing simple video games that require working with a partner or partners to complete tasks. The games require actions many autistics find difficult — turn-taking, imitation, cooperation, cooperative listening, reading social cues. They also require use of fine motor skills, another common struggle for autistics.
Autistics also typically possess a high determination to reach goals. By requiring cooperation and coordination to reach those video game goals, the games prompt improvements in those skills.
The games “are only fun if you play them with someone else, and you have to cooperate to get to the target area,” Newman-Norlund said.
The study is designed to measure how much the players are learning and how best to teach those lessons. His research team includes graduate students in computer programming, psychology and exercise science. Recent advancements in brain imaging technology will allow researchers to see what portion of the brain is most active during game play, which might be different for those with autism.
Some games for the study already have been designed, but Newman-Norlund expects his Kickstarter backers and parents involved early in the study will come up with completely new games or tweaks of the existing games. He wants to come up with a full suite of games.
“You don’t want to have too many bells and whistles that might distract them,” Newman-Norlund said. If the games are designed right, “they have fun, and they don’t even know they’re learning.”