Autism and Gaming

            I have noticed that I start a good number of these blogs with “you’ve all heard people say this crap about video games and how they’re bad.” Which is sad, because that means a ton of people are saying why video games suck. That is not fun at all. So once again, I’m going to start with that, and defend the point people attack. This time around, it’s the negative stereotype that playing videogames will hurt people’s abilities to connect and communicate with others. Honestly, this idea is utter bunk, and I will prove it, using the most extreme example I can: Autism. Surprise, games help kids with Autism, and in more ways than one.

            In this article, they discuss how MMO’s can help those with autism in several ways. The first of which being it starts by making you interact with others. Whether it be a raid, dungeon, instance, many of the game modes require you to have other people in your party. These missions are designed to be impossible for someone to solo. So that means you have to find other people to go along with. That means communication. Knowing what we know about autistic individuals, this is not really what their first instinct would be in any situation. Quite the opposite in fact. But these games incentivize communication and team work. While these missions are harder and require a team, they always give better gear and rewards. Not only do these games get the players to work together, it’s also teaching them social skills. As stated in the aforementioned article, “It is believed that if those with communicative disabilities play World of Warcraft on a frequent basis with the support of the community, they can help develop competency in social interaction. It makes sense if you think about it. It allows these individuals to communicate with other people in a nonthreatening situation. Unlike a real life social setting, the ASD individual can choose to walk away at any point. Chances are, they wouldn’t need to, as the threat of other people isn’t a present “danger”. It will help these individuals to become more comfortable interacting with other people. Think of this as a stepping stone. Also, anyone, not just those with Autism Spectrum Disorders, can benefit from online gaming. Socially awkward, or just uncomfortable around people, these things will still apply.

            Other than online gaming, other games are being used to help autistic children. In fact, video games are being developed for the sole purpose of helping autistic children. There is an awesome article on GameSpot (one of the biggest gaming blogs on the wonderful world of the interwebs), on the subject that can be found right here. This game, called Social Clues, was designed by engineering and design students at the University of Southern California. These 35 students say this as a golden opportunity to teach these children social norms and interactions. The game is framed loosely as a detective style game. You choose one of two characters, either communiKATE or particiPETE,  and your toy is missing. You have to interact with NPC (non player character) children to try and locate the toy.  The students behind this game have brilliantly made sure that the kids playing actually have to follow interactional norms to progress. For example, apparently you have to drag the arrow so your character maintains eye contact with whoever you are talking to. Additionally, you have to try and gauge how the NPC’s are feeling based on context and conversational cues. Do you see how awesome this is? If they actually make this game fun, it will teach autistic children how to interact with people, all encased in an activity they will enjoy. It’s pretty brilliant, I think. The article attached has a bit more information on “Social Clues”; I think it is highly worth the read.

            Now that you’ve all had a chance to see some articles on the matter, here are some personal anecdotes. In this blog on Parents.com, one mother lists some of the ways that video games have helped her son. All six of the impacts that gaming have had on her young son are improvements to areas in which he struggled. Of these, she lists communication, hand-eye coordination, concentration, age-appropriate interests, and surprisingly enough, improved his confidence and imagination. You can read all about it right here, and I highly suggest you do. It is really cool to see how one woman has seen her son improve just by playing games.

            Also, most of you probably didn’t know this, but for a year I had an autistic roommate. He had Asperger's and ADHD, among other things, so he was a bit of a handful. It was his first year living away from home, so it was a bit change. He was a great kid with a heart of gold, but not the most functional human being I’ve ever met. It was understandable though, as growing up his mother helped him with damn near everything. Thankfully, we were able to bond over video games, specifically his Xbox 360. If it wasn’t for that beautiful console, I don’t know what I would’ve done. For the most part, I used the Xbox as an incentive. Since there were 3 guys living in a 2 bedroom apartment, I lived in the living room, with my futon serving as the couch. That means to play Xbox, my roommate had to either sit on my futon or the floor. As such, I got to enforce some extra rules to help him along. Sometimes he would forget to shower, so I made the rule that bathing was required before sitting on the futon. He agreed this was a reasonable request, so it helped him get into a routine of showering immediately after work. Other times, I would offer to play co-op with him, if he cleaned his dishes, finished his laundry, etc. It worked wonders. By the time Winter came around, he would clean up more, get his laundry done, make better meals, and was just a more functional person just from using games as an incentive. If it wasn’t for those games, it would have been much harder to teach him.

            I hope this has shown at least some of you how well games can be used to positively impact those with certain disabilities. The key is to use anything in moderation. Too much of a good thing can still be bad.