BALTIMORE — A fast, engaging video game is opening new doors in understanding how children with autism learn.
Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University have developed a racing game called HaptiKart.
"Children with autism very often show motor skill difficulties that parallel their difficulties with social skills," says Dr. Stewart Mostofsky.
Dr. Stewart Mostofsky says researchers recognized that this game gives them a better understanding of the differences in how children with autism learn by looking at how they learn motor skills, which is also how most learn social skills.
"While they tend to show a decreased ability to rely on visual input to learn motor skills, they show an increased tendency to rely on what's called proprioceptive feedback, which is feedback from their own muscles, in their own bodies," he says.
HaptiKart is a five-minute racing video game that helps doctors figure out if a child learns better through physical sensations or verbal cues.
It's one of the reasons why Dr. Mostofsky says they chose racing as the game to test the theory.
"And so we need, you know, in this case, we really need a video game that doesn't just simply rely on pushing a button, but there's something that you actually feel while you're, while you're using the video games," he says.
A study of 81 participants found children with autism, especially severe cases, rely more on physical feedback.
"Really, more importantly, is that it's going to help us discern how to best help children with autism improve the skills that they need to function in daily life," says Dr. Mostofsky.
Dr. Mostofsky says this is just the first of many games they plan on developing to test for autism and other neurodivergent diagnoses in children.
He also encourages parents who are looking to learn more about how their child is developing to reach out to the Kennedy Krieger and let them test out HaptiKart for themselves.
