This research aimed to investigate how children with autism interacted with rich audio and visual augmented reality (AR) tabletop games. Based on in-depth needs analysis facilitated through autism centers in China, we designed and developed MagicBLOCKS, a series of tabletop AR interactive games for children with autism. We conducted a four-week field study with 15 male children. We found that the interactive dynamics in games were rewarding and played critical roles in motivation and sustained interest. In addition, based on post-hoc interviews and video analysis with expert therapists, we found that MagicBLOCKS provided opportunities for children with autism to engage with each other through player performances and audience interactions with episodes of cooperation and territoriality. We discuss the limitations and the insights offered by this research.
Thomas Neumayr University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria; JKU Linz, Mirjam Augstein University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Johannes Schönböck University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Sean Rintel Microsoft Research, Cambridge, Helmut Leeb University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Thomas Teichmeister University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Qin Wu The University of Auckland, Rao Xu Chengdu University of Information Technology, Yuantong Liu Chengdu University of Information Technology, Danielle Lottridge University of Auckland, Suranga Nanayakkara Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland
