Playful Interactions for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

For people with intellectual disabilities, there are significant barriers to inclusion in socially cooperative endeavors. This paper investigates the effectiveness of Stomp, a tangible user interface (TUI) designed to provide new participatory experiences for people with intellectual disability. Results from an observational study reveal the extent to which the Stomp system supports social and physical interaction. The tangible, spatial, and embodied qualities of Stomp result in an experience that does not rely on the acquisition of specific competencies before interaction and engagement can occur.

(Steering) Interactive Play Behavior

“…Not only 'we' (healthy adults, children, or students) could benefit from the technological improvements in entertainment. Current day technology could be beneficial 1 for everyone, even the mentally and/or physically disabled [88,130,282,283]. In several contexts we might be able to trigger certain types of desirable behavior, and we might be able to do this by incorporating game elements into interactive play systems that steer people towards other playing styles or interactions.…”

“…The camera can also be mounted inside the floor with a semi-transparent floor to track the feet of users [79]. Alternatively, pressure sensors [257,283] or piezo-electric (audio-based detection) [101,175] can be embedded in the floor/screen to provide a means to track players or a ball. These tracking systems can also be combined with a microphone to include audio/voice input [93].…”

“…Several interactive floor systems exist for indoor purposes, with mainly LEDs or projections as means of feedback, and using either RFID [117], pressure sensors [257,283], or computer vision to track people [79,102,156]. Several target groups have participated in studies with these floors, including children [281], families [117], students [156,256,260], intellectually disabled people [283], rehabilitants [257], and hearing impaired people [102].…”

“…Several target groups have participated in studies with these floors, including children [281], families [117], students [156,256,260], intellectually disabled people [283], rehabilitants [257], and hearing impaired people [102].…”

“…There are several exceptions to this tendency: one is Stomp, by Wyeth et al that was created for people with intellectual disabilities [282,283]. Another is the use of the PlayAlive satellites to help people with dementia and in the in-space project to help train and motivate people with mental disabilities 1 .…”