Help a Reader: Asperger’s, Anger & Games
Posted on July 17th, 2008 by
Attention readers! I got this question and I want to use it for Ask GamerDad (and I want to help this family). If you know anything about this subject and have anything to recommend, please respond here. Thanks. Click inside for the letter:
I've been enjoying your website. I have a son who's six and has Asperger's Syndrome. He LOVES video games, but is easily frustrated when the levels begin to get challenging (Super Mario Sunshine, Paper Mario, etc.) We have Animal Crossing and the mole is an issue. Animal genius is good, but doesn't hold his attention very long. I am completely clueless when it comes to games and wondered if you might have smme suggestions. We currently have a GameCube and a Nintendo DS, but are considering a Wii in the near future, so suggestions for any of those formats would be greatly appreciated! -Susan
July 17th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
My son Dylan used to get very frustrated with games as well, which is why he used to just watch me play them. Heck, he still does sometimes. I found that the Wii Sports and Wii Play games were, for the most part, simple enough for him to grasp and be good at.
I am sure there are other Wii games that fit that category, but those are the only ones I have experience with and would suggest if they get a Wii.
July 17th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
The Lego games of course for their co-op and lack of death penalty. Games like Disney’s Cars with a free roam open world where you don’t have to be racing to drive around. Warioware for Ds-excellent for short attention spans, both for microgames and toys to play around with. Mario Kart. I’m sure you know the Wii games as well as I do, Wii Sports and Wii Play alone will provide many hours of fun. If one activity gets frustrating move along to a new one.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Normal kids get frustrated by a lot of the same things as well — esp at earlier ages. My kids have some sensory integration issues, and some games have just become taboo — Wario Ware brings my son to tears, portions of Mario Sunshine are just forbidden to play (the old school bonus levels). But the free roaming and self paced games work best (Barnyard, Ribbit King) Super Smash Bros and Naruto games do well with mine — the reward with money and unlockable items works well. Lego Star Wars are always winners — games which don’t punish losing (like Sonic games).
July 20th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Try http://www.zacbrowser.com/ which is designed for children with autism, and autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and PDD-NOS.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Rather then a long post here I blogged:
http://morvis13.wordpress.com/2008/08/19/autism-computers/