An academic specialising in autism research says the hit game Pokemon Go will boost the social skills of children on the autism spectrum.
With Pokemon Go, if you want to find anything, you have to walk outside and explore. This could be a huge bridge for people who aren’t necessarily confident in social spaces…
Craig Smith, Autism Spectrum Australia, has developed Explore Everything with Pokemon GO, an iTunes U course as a resource for families to use with their children, or for young people to enjoy on an individual basis. It follows Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences to align learning experiences across a varied range of modes, from verbal and interpersonal activities through to musical and moral reasoning. Most all the learning experiences in the course use Tag Journal as the primary tool for maintaining a journal of activities and reflections.
More Information
- EXPLORE EVERYTHING WITH POKEMON GO!, autismpedagogy, July 10, 2016.
- Pokemon Go app set to help children on autism spectrum, abc.net.au, 15 Jul 2016.
This is potentially great news! My younger son was never classified as having ASD, but he had a rather serious head injury when he was about 4, and has had learning differences since then. He was delayed in reading…until his grandmother got him a Kindle. Holy mackerel. What a difference it made!
Give it a try and let me know 🙂
Best,