Tangible technologies for the development of play skills in autistic children

In this paper we describe Game of Stimuli (GoS) an interactive tangible game for children and adolescents diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The system is designed to engage children in play scenarios addressing different stages of development from practice play to rule-based play. The objective of the game is to maintain the attention on a given task while filtering irrelevant stimuli. The study was developed adopting a research-through-design approach, a design method that uses prototypes in the real context of use to generate new knowledge and future visions. The study exploited the modularity of GoS to adapt play activities to the current level of development of autistic children, and to appreciate if the tool could support them in mastering different stages of play of increasing complexity, from practice play (initial level of child development) to rule-based play (a more advanced and skilled playful competence), in solitary and collaborative way. The paper concludes with a reflection on the knowledge gained from testing in the field. Reflection-in-action happened while prototyping solutions and it allowed us to reshape our design. Reflection-on-action occurred after the final prototype was completed. This level of reflection was achieved by reflecting back on the overall experience with therapists and parents, questioning our beliefs, decisions and obtained results.