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Thu, 09/08/2016 - 14:19
Fran Bernstein
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Hi,

My name is Fran Bernstein and I'm an occupational therapist.

I see so much potential for using board games for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism. My problem is, I have no ability to create appropriate games . I have the ability to see how games can be used in so many ways to provide skill growth and success for these children.

Your involvement in developing a program using only tabletop games wpuld be invaluable.

Thanks for welcoming me and hearing me out

Fran

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Thu, 09/08/2016 - 14:47
#1
polyobsessive
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Interesting

Hi Fran, and welcome!

That sounds interesting. I have a couple of friends who are interested in using games as part of education and I've been meaning to discuss that sort of thing with them as it could be an interesting avenue to take, designing games with educational goals in mind (and not just the usual question-and-answer type games). Exploring how to use and design games for children with special educational needs sounds really interesting too, but I know next to nothing about the field.

Hopefully we'll be able to discuss this some more here.

All the best!
Rob

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Thu, 09/08/2016 - 15:16
#2
questccg
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Depends on the game!

Not because I want to "toot my own horn", but my newly released game has proven to be of interest to "children" (under 13 years). Why? Because the game in terms of learning curve is "moderate" for children. Kirby Cirus reviewed our game, here is the link:

http://fathergeek.com/tradewars-homeworld/

So because the game is more challenging for a child to LEARN, it would definitely put the game in a "educational" for children space. But the key point is that parents and avid gamers can also enjoy the game because of its depth. For parents and gamers, it's a little bit easier to get into the game because the game is fairly easy to grasp once you play the game.

Note: We earned Father Geeks' "Father Geek Approved" accolade which is a hard accolade to earn. It means that a game must be enjoyed by all three geek types: children, parents and gamers.

Update: Welcome to BGDF... We'll see what kind of games you are looking to find which may prove to be useful.

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Thu, 09/08/2016 - 16:26
#3
let-off studios
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Manipulatives Save the Day

Fran Bernstein wrote:
I see so much potential for using board games for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism. My problem is, I have no ability to create appropriate games . I have the ability to see how games can be used in so many ways to provide skill growth and success for these children.
Hello and welcome, Fran!

For nearly two years I worked at a day program for adults with intellectual disabilities. I was tasked with developing the Employment Training program from scratch. If there was one thing I made use of a lot, it would be MANIPULATIVES.

One of the best tools I found that created innumerable opportunities for all ability levels to be involved were these little gems:

http://www.eaieducation.com/Product/300185/Nuts___Bolts.aspx

I developed a PowerPoint slide show that displayed different permutations and combinations of colours and shapes combined together, had timed first- and second-runs of groups assembling the combinations, break times, and celebrations for a job well done. The pieces were safe and large enough for all participants to be involved in some way. For those with broader ability ranges, I let them be "supervisors" for teams of "workers."

With this group, I attempted to develop more "activities" as opposed to "games." It was successful (though largely because they didn't have an established program before I came along), and although I'm not there any longer they still use those activities to this day.

Best of success to you in your efforts! If you have more specific questions, be sure to post them here and I'm sure more folks than just me can contribute more ideas. :)

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Thu, 09/08/2016 - 17:24
#4
Tedthebug
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Could you point us to info?

This sounds interesting. Could you provide some bullet points of what to aim for & what to avoid, or to links that provide info without getting bogged down in pages & pages of esoteric technicalities? Not that I'm trying to gloss over how serious the topic is, it's just that without the required background I'm likely to miss the bits that are actually useful.

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Fri, 09/09/2016 - 21:16
#5
Soulfinger
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My daughter is

My daughter is developmentally delayed with a condition that is often mistaken for autism. I really miss the OT who used to come to our house before she aged out of the First Steps program.

What age groups are you dealing with? Do they span the spectrum or do most of your kids fall within a particular range? There are a lot of questions to ask before we can give decent answers, as a disorder is such a small facet of any person. As I am sure you already know, you'll ultimately need a toolbox of games catering to individual likes and dislikes, rather than creating the catch-all 'autism' game.

For younger or delayed kids, Haba and Hape are good starting points. Habba's "Animal Upon Animal" is a fun stacking game with visually appealing wooden animals. Hape's line of wooden games include Stormy Seas, a pirate-themed balancng game with components that have excellent tactile qualities. They do a game called Rapido that may be out-of-print and hard to find now in which you try to trap marbles inside a wooden tube according to a particular pattern.

For older kids and teens, I've seen recommendations for Pandemic, Nexus Ops, and Pokemon. Again, it ranges tremendously according to age, personal interest, and where they are at on the spectrum. I would imagine that you'd want to avoid bluffing games.

These links should help:
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/30108/autism-and-boardgames-some-obser...
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1219739/boardgames-children-autism-add-...

As an aside, have you tried bringing a tablet with Minecraft for your clients to play on? I can't believe how involved our daughter has gotten with playing Minecraft on her tablet. The creative mode gives her a tremendous degree of control and freedom to explore a stress-free environment. Our 10-year-old son started building settings for her to explore and interact with, and gradually she came to enjoy playing network games with him. Now, she is starting to learn how to use the more complex Xbox controller to play on that system.

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Fri, 09/09/2016 - 21:20
#6
Soulfinger
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questccg wrote:Not because I

questccg wrote:
Not because I want to "toot my own horn", but my newly released game has proven to be of interest to "children" (under 13 years).

But what makes it good for children with ADHD or autism?

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Fri, 09/09/2016 - 21:43
#7
questccg
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I'm not an expert

Soulfinger wrote:
questccg wrote:
Not because I want to "toot my own horn", but my newly released game has proven to be of interest to "children" (under 13 years).

But what makes it good for children with ADHD or autism?

I'm not an expert in either of these conditions. We would need the advice of an expert to qualify what would work for those specific conditions.

From the outside, people not directly implicated with my game, say that the game is relatively easy for adults and gamers to "get into". And the children that have had the opportunity to play, also gave it a "big thumbs up!"

That's all I'm saying. Another person who is in sales, told me I should look into the "educational market" because if younger children like the game, and they can play it with their parent(s)... This might help them develop better skills with more practice.

Update: Which skills???

  • Active Listening & Communication
  • Counting & Math
  • Logical & Critical Decision Making
  • Reading
  • Strategy & Tactics
  • Risk vs. Reward
  • Hand/Resource Management

As specified by "Father Geek". I didn't actually list out what those skills were... They we're listed for my understanding (and others interested in the game).

@Soulfinger: From what I hear Pokemon is a complex game. Another designer designed a more "kid-friendly" battle game because his daughter and her friends just collected the cards (and did not play the game - because it was too difficult...)

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Sat, 09/10/2016 - 16:46
#8
Soulfinger
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questccg wrote:@Soulfinger:

questccg wrote:
@Soulfinger: From what I hear Pokemon is a complex game. Another designer designed a more "kid-friendly" battle game because his daughter and her friends just collected the cards (and did not play the game - because it was too difficult...)

A lot of the games that autistic kids play are complex. It is the social element that trips them up more than anything. I had a friend with Asperger's, and socializing with him was a lot like interacting with the character of Data from Star Trek TNG. We got to be friends after I played a prank on him that went horribly wrong. I had promised to set him up with a friend, only then it turned out she was in a terrible accident, lost her legs, and so on. Most guys go "Ughh, nevermind," and my cynical soul gets its chicken soup. Nothing I did made this woman unappealing to this guy however. He could see past it, and I saw that he was a very genuine and decent sort who was terribly alone and ostracized at work because he spoke honestly, oftentimes foolishly, in an environment where people lied daily to hide their insecurities. I took him under my wing, got him back in the social scene, and I'd like to think helped to explain things to him so he could understand people on an intellectual level if not an emotional one. "Anthropologist on Mars" really is an apt term for guys like him.

I would be interested to see a game that defines social rules in a logical context with the aim of improving an autistic person's ability to interpret body language, perceive sarcasm, differentiate lies from truth, and comprehend non-specific language. Even something like a game in which you build up a set of social defenses around a single insecurity. The goal of the autistic player is to decipher the social clues to reveal the hidden insecurity, perhaps without undermining the target's dignity. It would reinforce that some seemingly random behaviors are actually highly structured self-defense mechanisms that people use in their daily lives. It also puts the gravitas on the "typical" person, demonstrating that the autistic player's inability to perceive social cues is only a liability in that others build up these unhealthy duplicitous constructs as an impediment against honest, open dialogues.

As near as I can tell plenty of people on the spectrum are using math to help them interpret others. One guy wrote, for example, "most of these 'formulas', are just rules(don't stand too close to people.) but you have bigger formulas, like if X is upset about Y, don't talk about Y. But the biggest one that I use is for sarcasm: X/3+Y/3+Z/3=P(that the statement is sarcastic.)
If yes, it's 1. If no, it's 0
X:Is the statement highly illogical/unreal?
Y:Is the person making the statement sending 'obvious' sarcastic signals?
Z:Are other people laughing about it?"

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