Understanding User Needs for Serious Games for Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Emotions

Computer technologies, particularly games, are considered promising in assisting children with autism in learning social interactions and developing language skills, but few existing tools target a critical factor in communication, emotions. This study is an effort to analyze user needs for a serious game for teaching children with autism spectrum disorders emotions. Semi-structured interviews with parents and user observations were used in combination to investigate user needs. The results suggest that while parents recognized the importance of teaching children emotions, they do not have effective tools. We recommend that effective intervention tools need to be customizable, adaptive, and contextualized.

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