"It Helps Us Express Our Feelings Without Having To Say Anything": Exploring Accompanying Social Play Things Designed With and For Neurodiverse Groups of Children

Research Background and Problem

• Problem or Challenge:
  • Social play is crucial for children's well-being and development, but differences in communication and interaction styles pose challenges for participants in neurodiverse social play.
  • Existing social play technologies often focus on teaching autistic children to adapt to "typical" social environments, neglecting the need to support neurodiverse play scenarios. Such interventions are often criticized as ineffective and potentially stigmatizing for autistic individuals.
• Significance:
  • A lack of positive social play experiences leads to feelings of social isolation, negatively impacting self-esteem and mental health.
  • Designing more inclusive play technologies for neurodiverse children can improve play experiences and foster mutual understanding of different communication and interaction styles.
• Research Motivation:
  • Utilizing the framework of the "Double Empathy Problem" to develop technology that bridges communication gaps among neurodiverse individuals.
  • Exploring how to design technology that supports the unique needs of neurodiverse children through co-design with them.

Solution

• Proposed Solution:
  • Development of a prototype device named ChromaConnect, which includes a wristband with color buttons and a corresponding colored light display, designed to help children express their play states and needs during games.
• Innovations:
  • Introduction of the concept of "companion social play objects," where the device does not directly participate in the game but provides supportive functions within existing play contexts.
  • Operationalization of the "Double Empathy Problem" into design insights, enabling neurodiverse children to express their needs and emotions more clearly.
• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:
  1. Co-Design Phase:
     • Conducted three co-design workshops with seven neurodiverse children (aged 7-8).
     • In the first phase, children were guided to design "tools" to support play through the "Space Explorers" game.
     • The second and third phases refined the tools and conducted functionality testing.
  2. Iteration and Prototype Development:
     • Based on co-design outcomes, developed ChromaConnect, enabling children to select colors via buttons and use light displays to express their current "play state" or needs.
     • The meanings of the color buttons could be flexibly defined by the children, such as indicating a desire to play alone or request help.
  3. Performance Evaluation:
     • Tested the prototype in both structured indoor play and unstructured outdoor play environments.

Research Findings

• Specific Outcomes:
  1. Supporting the Establishment of a Shared Language:
     • ChromaConnect helped children define shared rules during play, such as green for cooperative play and yellow for requesting help.
     • The use of color signals reduced misunderstandings and conflicts.
  2. Facilitating Diverse Play Styles:
     • Encouraged and supported various play styles, particularly enabling children to clearly express their desire for independent play (e.g., "independent divergence").
     • In unstructured scenarios, the device made children's "non-typical" play styles more visible.
  3. Expressing Social Play Expectations:
     • The device significantly simplified the initiation of social play, allowing children to clearly express their intentions to join or leave a game.
• Advantages Over Existing Solutions:
  • Compared to interventionist technologies, ChromaConnect focuses on enhancing mutual understanding among children rather than forcing them to conform to "typical" interaction standards.
  • The flexible design allows the device to be applied in diverse and unstructured play scenarios.
• Experimental and Evaluation Results:
  • Results from the two test scenarios showed that the device improved children's play collaboration and communication efficiency, reducing unsuccessful social interactions.
  • Children's creative use of the device (e.g., defining colors to express emotions) demonstrated the technology's potential to foster new forms of communication.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • Limitations:
    • The children in the tests were familiar with each other, which may affect the external validity of the experiments.
    • Accidental button presses on the wristband led to inconsistent signals.
  • Future Directions:
    1. Expand the study to include a broader range of ages, genders, and cross-cultural groups of children.
    2. Explore more personalized and privacy-preserving device designs.
    3. Further investigate the concept of "companion social play objects," including applications in non-play contexts.

Through this study, ChromaConnect has demonstrated its potential to support mutual understanding in neurodiverse social play. Future research can build on the design principles presented in this paper to develop more advanced companion technology tools, enhancing inclusive play experiences.