Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sinbad and the Magic Cure: A Serious Game for Children with ASD and Auditory Hypersensitivity

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Games and Learning Alliance (GALA 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 10653))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Serious games (SG) are part of a range of technologies that can be used for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Typically, these games target communication skills, social interaction and speech. There are, however, few SGs for autistic children which have the aim of helping to moderate sensory hypersensitivity. This paper presents an SG which aims to target this area. A set of critical sounds was heuristically determined, and implemented in an interactive SG for reducing auditory hypersensitivity (i.e. over-sensitivity to environmental sounds) in children with ASD. The game, Sinbad and the Magic Cure, is designed for Android devices, and is intended for children aged 8–11.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    www.vision-play.com/product/ease-funhouse-tresure-hunt.

  2. 2.

    www.freesound.org.

  3. 3.

    www.reaper.fm.

  4. 4.

    www.unity3d.com.

  5. 5.

    www.wollamshram.ca/1001.

  6. 6.

    www.autodesk.com/.

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Arlington (2013). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.744053

  2. CDC: CDC estimates 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder. CDC Newsroom (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  3. NHS Autism spectrum disorder - NHS Choices, http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Autistic-spectrum-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx. Accessed 22 July 2017

  4. Gomes, E., Pedroso, F.S., Wagner, M.B.: Auditory hypersensitivity in the autistic spectrum disorder. Pró-Fono Rev Atualização Científica 20, 279–284 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-56872008000400013

  5. Boucenna, S., Narzisi, A., Tilmont, E., et al.: Interactive technologies for autistic children: a review. Cognit. Comput. 6, 722–740 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12559-014-9276-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hourcade, J.P., Williams, S.R., Miller, E.A., et al.: Evaluation of tablet apps to encourage social interaction in children with autism spectrum disorders. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2013, pp. 3197–3206 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1145/2470654.2466438

  7. Gal, E., Lamash, L., Bauminger-Zviely, N., et al.: Using multitouch collaboration technology to enhance social interaction of children with high-functioning autism. Phys. Occup. Ther. Pediatr. 36, 46–58 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3109/01942638.2015.1040572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. De Leo, G., Gonzales, C.H., Battagiri, P., Leroy, G.: A smart-phone application and a companion website for the improvement of the communication skills of children with autism: clinical rationale, technical development and preliminary results. J. Med. Syst. 35, 703–711 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-009-9407-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bernardini, S., Porayska-Pomsta, K., Smith, T.J.: ECHOES: An intelligent serious game for fostering social communication in children with autism. Inf. Sci. (Ny) 264, 41–60 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ins.2013.10.027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Zakari, H., Ma, M., Simmons, D.: A review of serious games for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Serious Games Dev. Appl. SE - 9(8778), 93–106 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11623-5_9

    Google Scholar 

  11. Hoque, M., Lane, J., Kaliouby, R., et al.: Exploring speech therapy games with children on the autism spectrum, pp. 1–4 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Barajas, A.O., Al Osman, H., Shirmohammadi, S.: A serious game for children with autism spectrum disorder as a tool for play therapy. https://doi.org/10.1109/SeGAH.2017.7939266

  13. Tomchek, S., Dunn, W.: Sensory processing in children with and without autism: a comparative study using the short sensory profile. Am. J. Occup. 61, 190–200 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Case-Smith, J., Weaver, L.L., Fristad, M.A.: A systematic review of sensory processing interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism 19, 133–148 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313517762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Choi, M., Lim, C.: Interactive therapy system design for children with autistic. Therapy (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Rogers, S.J., Ozonoff, S.: Annotation: what do we know about sensory dysfunction in autism? A critical review of the empirical evidence. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 46, 1255–1268 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01431.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Dawson, G., Watling, R.: Interventions to facilitate auditory, visual, and motor integration in autism: a review of the evidence. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 30, 415–421 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005547422749

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Gomes, E., Pedroso, F.S., Wagner, M.B.: Auditory hypersensitivity in the autistic spectrum disorder. Pró-Fono Rev Atualização Científica 20, 279–284 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-56872008000400013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Ben-Sasson, A., Liat, A., Ae, H., et al.: A meta-analysis of sensory modulation symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0593-3

  20. Anari, M., Axelsson, A., Eliasson, A., Magnusson, L.: Hypersensitivity to sound Questionnaire data, audiometry and classification. Scand. Audiol. 28, 219–230 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1080/010503999424653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Headphones and the Noise at Work Regulations, LexisNexis Butterworths (1992). https://www.isvr.co.uk/reprints/Headphones%20and%20the%20nawr%20p.pdf. Accessed 14 Feb 2017

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was fully funded by The King Abdullah Scholarship Program (2014–2017). We would like to thank the children, parents, and teachers for participating in this research. We would also like to thank June Grindley, and Neelam Jhakra, Dr. Sandy Louchart, and Brian Loranger for their feedback and suggestions. In particular, we would like to thank the depute head teacher and other staff from the participating school, Creatovators CIC, Strathclyde Autistic Society Club, Glasgow Science Center, and the School of Simulation and Visualisation of the Glasgow School of Art for all their help in conducting this research. Special thanks for Victor Portela Romero, Louise Dolan, Hajara Alfa, Akash Angral, Dr. Polina Zioga, Dr. Jessica Argo, and Sawitree Wisetchat for their invaluable supports.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The School of Simulation and Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK

    Hanan Makki Zakari & Matthieu Poyade

  2. The School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    David Simmons

Authors
  1. Hanan Makki Zakari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matthieu Poyade
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Simmons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hanan Makki Zakari .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Dias

  2. University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Pedro A. Santos

  3. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Remco C. Veltkamp

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Zakari, H.M., Poyade, M., Simmons, D. (2017). Sinbad and the Magic Cure: A Serious Game for Children with ASD and Auditory Hypersensitivity. In: Dias, J., Santos, P., Veltkamp, R. (eds) Games and Learning Alliance. GALA 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10653. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71940-5_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71940-5_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71939-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71940-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation