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Designing Serious Game Interventions for Individuals with Autism

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Abstract

The design of “Serious games” that use game components (e.g., storyline, long-term goals, rewards) to create engaging learning experiences has increased in recent years. We examine of the core principles of serious game design and examine the current use of these principles in computer-based interventions for individuals with autism. Participants who undergo these computer-based interventions often show little evidence of the ability to generalize such learning to novel, everyday social communicative interactions. This lack of generalized learning may result, in part, from the limited use of fundamental elements of serious game design that are known to maximize learning. We suggest that future computer-based interventions should consider the full range of serious game design principles that promote generalization of learning.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Pennsylvania Department of Health SAP Grant 4100047862. This research was also supported by Penn State’s Center for Online Innovation in Learning.

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The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, 110 Moore Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Elisabeth M. Whyte & K. Suzanne Scherf

  2. Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Joshua M. Smyth

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  1. Elisabeth M. Whyte
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Correspondence to Elisabeth M. Whyte.

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Whyte, E.M., Smyth, J.M. & Scherf, K.S. Designing Serious Game Interventions for Individuals with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3820–3831 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2333-1

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