The aim of the project is to design a product or device that will enable autistic children to practice emotional expressions with the use of PrEmo animations. It will have to grow with the capabilities of the children and it will have to trigger the children to explore and learn. The product will be aiming at autistic children between 6 and 10 years of age that have no deficits in mental capabilities. These are the children who struggle most with their social problems during puberty.
Snapje is an iPhone app. to learn emotions to autistic children in everyday life. The parent or caretaker makes photo’s with his iPhone from situations in which the child is part of or from familiar people. With these photos and the PrEmos games can be played.
The iPhone has an additional cover with key cord that protects the iPhone from falling, bumping or breaking. Not only does it protect, it also brings more structure to the game in giving feedback on who’s turn it is. In the settings menu, players can chose their own character with belonging colour. The colour, lighting up from the RGB-leds in the cover, correspond with the colours of the characters that have been chosen. The level can be changed in the settings menu as well.
A photo is opened and parent and child can play a game with the photo in which they both have to tag the photo with an emotion. The turns are well addressed by the coloured cover and the characters. The game can be played very openly, discussing what emotions take place, but it can also be played in a way you only know afterwards if the same emotion or different emotions have been chosen by parent and child. If the child selects an emotion that is identical to one chosen by the parent, the child gets directly extra reward. Afterwards it is clear who has chosen which emotion, by coloured distinctions similar to the colours of the players. This can be discussed, and the importance of emotions can be defined.
In addition to this game the child can play four other games on his own. Match and Memory make the child familiarize with the emotions. With the other two games the photos can be reviewed. This happens either in a passive mode in which the PrEmo’s are visible or in an active mode in which the child has to choose which PrEmo belongs to the photo.
Snapje is a fun way to learn emotions in relation to it’s context!
Fun! The younger children do not only have a big interest in reviewing photos of themselves and familiar people, they also like the PrEmo-animations.
Useful! Snapje interests the younger children who can still learn from situations in which they played a role themselves. It raises awareness to the emotions that took place in relation to the context.
Intelligent children over ten years might have less interest in playing the game in their spare time. However, the game is useful for them when played with photos of strangers and situations in which they were not present.
Adaptable! Parent and child find their own way to play Snapje. Either in an open or competitive way.
Snapje stimulates playing together! The play-in-turns, create structure and clearity.
Not only the child revives situations and becomes aware of emotions that have occurred with themselves and around them, but the parent can get more insights on the child’s emotions as well.
Parents are enthusiastic about Snapje and eager to make photos for the game, if their child can still learn about emotions that occur by usage of these photos.