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Can Gaming Improve Autistic Behaviors?

Friday, December 28th, 2007 · Tagged , , , , , , , and ·   Comments

Parents of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have found playing certain types of video games can produce some benefits. Beth Schramek, a parent of a child with ASD, credits gaming for helping her eight year old son learn spatial relations, skills to plan ahead, and general problem solving techniques. She says, “Nonviolent games such as Bejeweled, Chuzzle, Feeding Frenzy, and Insaniquarium have given Gunnar positive reinforcement and help him learn to focus.”
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Playing some video games not only aids in the development of new skills, it can also help initiate new connections with your child. Video game time can also be a great bonding time, where joint attention is practiced. The following is an excerpt from the GeorgiaFamily.com article regarding the benefits of gaming:

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Sam Butler’s son, who is on the PDD-NOS line of the autism spectrum, started using the computer game TeachTown, a program designed for autistic children. “It’s a pretty simple program that shows a group of pictures and gives directions or asks questions such as ‘point to the car’ or ‘which one is a girl?’” says Butler, “I was skeptical at first because I thought it was too simplistic.” However, once his son had been playing the game for a few weeks he started turning to his father, looking him in the eyes and telling him what he saw. “This was a major breakthrough because he was just starting to speak after being silent for over a year, and eye contact was an ongoing problem,” says Butler.

To read the full article from GeorgiaFamily.Com