Individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders often experience sensory perception impairments, which can lead to challenges such as sensitivity to loud noises or irritation from specific textures on their skin. Atypical movement, such as rocking, can be exhibited as compensation for this sensory perception impairment. Currently, therapists use dance therapy to stimulate the various senses in children with autism to reduce atypical movement and to increase engagement in the activity. Suite of Kinect applications is a system developed to further the aims of dance therapy by increasing the children’s body awareness. We aim to explore the potential of DanceCraft as a tool for children with autism. Participating children with autism will be video recorded using the software and will participate in interviews about their experiences. We will be exploring how the software engenders different interactions styles to help inform the design of future systems focused on using body based movements to support dance therapy.

People: Kate Ringland, Heather Faucett, Jamie Brown, Gillian Hayes
Undergrad RAs: Nathaniel Valerio, Kelly Ho