A pilot study: a computer game-based assessment of visual perspective taking of four children with autism with high support needs

ABSTRACT

High support need and minimally verbal individuals with autism have received less attention in research in comparison to so-called higher functioning individuals with autism. As computers motivate individuals with autism, a game with a positive user experience was altered into a level 1 perspective-taking task in which advancement was contingent on eye contact. A case-controls design was used to see whether participants had impaired perspective taking and would they benefit from additional cues. Four high support need and minimally verbal children with autism played the game in their school environment. It was found that only one child with autism made more errors than controls using the eye cues. No child with autism benefitted from the additional cues, whereas the control group did. The results suggest that positive contexts may reveal more about individuals and their skills, and that individual level analysis can provide insights about autism and about the individuals with autism.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual perspective taking
• autism
• computer game
• high support need
• case-controls design

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Vesa Korhonen, MSc, is a PhD candidate at the University of Eastern Finland. His research interests are autism spectrum disorders, attention, social communication, and technology in educational contexts.

Hannu Räty, PhD., is a professor of psychology at the University of Eastern Finland. His research deals with the social representations of intelligence and parental perceptions of their children's schooling.

Eija Kärnä, PhD., is professor of Special education at the university of Eastern Finland. Her research interest are inclusive education and continuous learning, inclusive learning environments and technology for individuals with special needs, and communication and interaction of individuals with severe developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorders.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by the Academy of Finland, grant number 140450.