New Game Helps Young ASD Boy See the World Differently
By Amy Elisabeth
Dylan is a special little guy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He sees the world through a differently colored pair of sunglasses every day. Days are spent trying to take what he sees in his mind and comprehend it in the real world. Imagine always missing one piece when you are trying to put together a puzzle--the frustration, confusion, the constant feeling of disorder. Dylan finds these struggles in most activities he does.
Through all this, I found only a few games or activities where he can get beyond these obstacles, Magik Play is an iPad building block game that has accomplished something unique for Dylan. First, he started with finding shapes, but these shapes are hidden in your everyday objects, like a ramp or bike. Dylan learned and understood his first abstract thought; a ramp is not just a ramp but a shape that I can hold feel and see the direct impact in real life. Dylan has struggled seeing anything more than black and white in life (a square is a square). Magik Play has never frustrated him like most activities. Next, Dylan made a simple, house with blocks to match the house on the iPad. We went outside later that day, and he looked back at our home and expressed "Mommy, our house needs two squares." He put what he learned in the game into his outside world.
The most incredible thing Dylan has gained from playing Magik Play is his first understanding of cause and effect. On the game, he built an escape route for the bird and then knocked it down so the bad guy couldn't get to his bird. Dylan was proud he saved the bird. Later that same day, Dylan stated very profoundly, "I hug you, you're happy, I hit you, you're sad." For the first time, he truly understood his actions had a direct impact on the world around him!
Dylan has also improved drastically on his fine motor skills, the ability to manipulate shapes, standing on end, lying flat or turned sideways. In the beginning, he dropped them; now he can stack, turn, and do anything he sets his heart on. Magik Play has made a direct improvement in Dylan's skills and increased his ability to see the world differently.
Magikbee is an education technology startup based in Braga, Portugal, with an ambition to provide kids with fun and educational ways to use digital devices. Their first project, Magik Play, is a "phygital" kid's toy that seamlessly connects traditional building blocks with tablets in a series of fun puzzles and games.