ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic Emotions

This paper presents a computer game developed to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to recognize facial expressions associated with the four basic emotions: joy, sadness, anger, and surprise. This game named ALTRIRAS is a role-playing game (RPG), a kind of game pointed out by the li...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Leandro M. Almeida, Diego P. da Silva, Daieny P. Theodório, Wolley W. Silva, Silvia Cristina M. Rodrigues, Terigi A. Scardovelli, Alessandro P. da Silva, Marcia Aparecida S. Bissaco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-01-01
Series:International Journal of Computer Games Technology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/4384896
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832564918473195520
author Leandro M. Almeida
Diego P. da Silva
Daieny P. Theodório
Wolley W. Silva
Silvia Cristina M. Rodrigues
Terigi A. Scardovelli
Alessandro P. da Silva
Marcia Aparecida S. Bissaco
author_facet Leandro M. Almeida
Diego P. da Silva
Daieny P. Theodório
Wolley W. Silva
Silvia Cristina M. Rodrigues
Terigi A. Scardovelli
Alessandro P. da Silva
Marcia Aparecida S. Bissaco
author_sort Leandro M. Almeida
collection DOAJ
description This paper presents a computer game developed to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to recognize facial expressions associated with the four basic emotions: joy, sadness, anger, and surprise. This game named ALTRIRAS is a role-playing game (RPG), a kind of game pointed out by the literature as the most suitable for these children for being more social than competitive. It has recreational settings built with 2D graphic interface to keep the children’s attention and an access control and a register mechanism to allow the monitoring of the child’s progress. The data collection of the functional, nonfunctional, psychological, and educational requirements, as well as the evaluation of its consistency and usability, was made by a multidisciplinary team consisting of five experts in each of the following expertises: pedagogy, psychology, psychopedagogy, and game development. The effectiveness test of the game was performed by 10 children with ASD and 28 children with neurotypical development, which were separated into control and experimental groups, respectively. All experts and children with neurotypical development answered the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire after playing the game. The results were positive, between experts and volunteers regarding their acceptance. However, the time of exposure to the game in children with ASD should be increased to effective assistance in the recognition of facial expressions.
format Article
id doaj-art-d8f085248cfd4f55822441e6ac766ef2
institution Kabale University
issn 1687-7047
1687-7055
language English
publishDate 2019-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Computer Games Technology
spelling doaj-art-d8f085248cfd4f55822441e6ac766ef22025-02-03T01:09:54ZengWileyInternational Journal of Computer Games Technology1687-70471687-70552019-01-01201910.1155/2019/43848964384896ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic EmotionsLeandro M. Almeida0Diego P. da Silva1Daieny P. Theodório2Wolley W. Silva3Silvia Cristina M. Rodrigues4Terigi A. Scardovelli5Alessandro P. da Silva6Marcia Aparecida S. Bissaco7Technological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilTechnological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilTechnological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilTechnological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilTechnological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilTechnological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilTechnological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilTechnological Research Center, University of Mogi das Cruzes, 08780-911 Mogi das Cruzes, SP, BrazilThis paper presents a computer game developed to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to recognize facial expressions associated with the four basic emotions: joy, sadness, anger, and surprise. This game named ALTRIRAS is a role-playing game (RPG), a kind of game pointed out by the literature as the most suitable for these children for being more social than competitive. It has recreational settings built with 2D graphic interface to keep the children’s attention and an access control and a register mechanism to allow the monitoring of the child’s progress. The data collection of the functional, nonfunctional, psychological, and educational requirements, as well as the evaluation of its consistency and usability, was made by a multidisciplinary team consisting of five experts in each of the following expertises: pedagogy, psychology, psychopedagogy, and game development. The effectiveness test of the game was performed by 10 children with ASD and 28 children with neurotypical development, which were separated into control and experimental groups, respectively. All experts and children with neurotypical development answered the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire after playing the game. The results were positive, between experts and volunteers regarding their acceptance. However, the time of exposure to the game in children with ASD should be increased to effective assistance in the recognition of facial expressions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/4384896
spellingShingle Leandro M. Almeida
Diego P. da Silva
Daieny P. Theodório
Wolley W. Silva
Silvia Cristina M. Rodrigues
Terigi A. Scardovelli
Alessandro P. da Silva
Marcia Aparecida S. Bissaco
ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic Emotions
International Journal of Computer Games Technology
title ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic Emotions
title_full ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic Emotions
title_fullStr ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic Emotions
title_full_unstemmed ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic Emotions
title_short ALTRIRAS: A Computer Game for Training Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Recognition of Basic Emotions
title_sort altriras a computer game for training children with autism spectrum disorder in the recognition of basic emotions
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/4384896
work_keys_str_mv AT leandromalmeida altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions
AT diegopdasilva altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions
AT daienyptheodorio altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions
AT wolleywsilva altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions
AT silviacristinamrodrigues altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions
AT terigiascardovelli altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions
AT alessandropdasilva altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions
AT marciaaparecidasbissaco altrirasacomputergamefortrainingchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorderintherecognitionofbasicemotions