Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Designing a Digital Experience for Young Children
with Developmental Disabilities
Peta Wyeth, Joshua Hall, and Daniel Johnson
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
{peta.wyeth,joshua.hall,dm.johnson}@qut.edu.au
Abstract.
This paper reports on the development of a playful digital experience,
Anim-action, designed for young children with developmental disabilities. This
experience was built using the Stomp platform, a technology designed
specifically to meet the needs of people with intellectual disability through
facilitating whole body interaction. We provide detail on how knowledge
gained from key stakeholders informed the design of the application and
describe the design guidelines used in the development process. A study
involving 13 young children with developmental disabilities was conducted to
evaluate the extent to which Anim-action facilitates cognitive, social and
physical activity. Results demonstrated that Anim-action effectively supports
cognitive and physical activity. In particular, it promoted autonomy and
encouraged problem solving and motor planning. Conversely, there were
limitations in the system's ability to support social interaction, in particular,
cooperation. Results have been analyzed to determine how design guidelines
might be refined to address these limitations.
Keywords:
Young children, developmental disability, interactive experience,
design guidelines, evaluation, play and games.
1
Introduction
Increasingly, innovative technology is being utilized in early childhood settings and
there is clear evidence that well designed systems have the potential to engage young
children, respond to their developmental needs and stimulate learning through play
[3]. However there is limited research focused on the design of new technology for
children with developmental disabilities, especially within the early childhood years.
Effective integration of playful technology into settings that include children with
developmental disabilities is an ongoing challenge and our research is focused on
addressing this issue. The research was guided by two research aims. Firstly, our
objective is to identify the design requirements necessary to create playful interactive
experiences that are meaningful and appropriate for young children with
developmental disabilities. Our second aim involves understanding the extent to
which the experience developed supports cognitive, social and physical play.
