Investigating the characteristics of educational computer games developed for children with autism: a project proposal

Abstract

Autism is a neural developmental disorder that interfere the brain development and causes deficit in social interaction and communication skills as a result. One of the most important outcomes of education of children with autism is the functional independence skills. Effective instructional techniques and methods are immensely important for children with autism to improve their functional independence skills. At this point we think that since playing is a fundamental part of a child's physical, cognitive, linguistic, emotional and social development, educational computer games which are used effectively in education of children without developmental disorders can also be used effectively in education of children with autism. This paper proposes a project for investigating how children with autism interact with computer games, how computer games can be used for educational purposes, and what characteristics educational computer games should have in education of children with autism. For this project educational computer games for children with autism will be designed and developed. In this process, design based research methodology will be used to investigate the characteristics of educational computer games for children with autism.