A game to experience what it's like to have Autism.

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Hey guys,
So for my University 4th/5th year project i'm thinking of creating some kind of computer virtual world/game where the character is someone with autism, played by neurotypicals in an attempt to visually show them what it's like to live in the world of autism.

For example when it comes to social situations I was thinking about having:

- Characters with similar faces to mirror common issues with prosopagnosia.
- Characters speak in a very monotone
- Very obscure body language (to depict what it's like before one learns how to interpretate body language)

--- And the user will be expected to respond to social situations correctly, whilst having removed certain non-verbal communication that nt's have naturally learnt and suffer consequences when they cannot do so.

I'd be trying to moreso aim it at understanding what it's like to be a child with autism, so one level may perhaps be a school enviroment.

I was thinking of picking 3 key symptoms/difficulties people with autism have, and trying to convey that visually in 3 different levels.

Could I ask people's opinions on this? Perhaps suggestions or any ideas or general comments.

Thankyou

Don't use people. People will have body language whether they like it or not, it's so automatic. Use cardboard cut-outs, and tape little signs to them that say what they're saying. Make sure it's ambiguous.

But there's always a problem with these sorts of simulations. If you want people to learn what autism is like, you'd have to give them a lifetime with autism to learn and adjust, as autistic people do. To give them these handicaps without the accompanying coping skills is to give them a situation that is qualitatively different from those experienced by people with the actual disability.

I would therefore recommend that you find some people with autism and get them to talk about their everyday lives, the particular autism-related problems they deal with and how they do so. Your goal is not to get the NT to have sympathy for the person with autism, but to simply increase the NT's familiarity with autism, so that it is no longer so unpredictable and frightening to them. You want to give them some people that they can use to put a face on autism--NTs like to put faces on everything--so that they can replace the nebulous, intimidating concept they've likely gained from the media.

dunno what we have but better wld be to show how we see/ perceive/experience ...

a quick list ...

pll are sneaky, unreliable.

pl never do what they say they will do.

pll wish to humiliate and denigrate, particularly for the first forty years of my life.

being ignored, unless its to take the piss. perhaps mylife when I worked among others thirty years ago was not so bad, but school was so bad it stuck with me forever.

we never contribute to any conversation particularly if more than one other person present, even when mostly all they talk is low grade crap; our voice sounds soooo out of place.

incredible confusion in many situations .... what do i do?? and usually never gets better cos we are always alone.

I crave wide open spaces; landscape that are ppl-less and quiet.

cities towns and even (all) little twee villages crowd me in and make me feel ill.

a complete ppl phobia helps preserve my dignity and self respect.

time and time agn the above is proven true.

**show the problems we have, not what we 'look like'.......

I am NT my boyfriend is AS . I would love to know what it is like from his point of view. Maybe you could go further and exemplify relationship issues from both sides. I know when I talk to him he doesn't get the same meaning a lot of the time and vice a versa. This would be a great relationship tool.

I think it would have to be pretty dramatic, because for most NTs, the difference in perception is a barrier that's pretty much impossible to cross.

I wouldn't want someone to get a wrong impression of autism because they simply can't see our world the way we do.

I think this is a good idea. Basically it would have to demonstrate having a high anxiety and a change in body language and perception as a result, trouble multitasking, focusing and awareness.

How about most sensory input is magnified? Have people bellow 20-30 dB louder than normal (but in a monotone to make tones difficult to tell apart), have lights much brighter than normal and boring right into their corneas, smells of everyday things except magnified 5x, and have everyone be overly affectionate and familiar towards those we are trying to show our sensory world to. Perhaps have them not bathe or shower for a few days as well and/or not use deodorant, to magnify human smell!

I think if people try to minimize their difference in tone and body language, there will still be some difference, but far less - which I think is pretty accurate for the Asperger's/autistic perception.

I guess for me to understand NT perception, I could ATTENUATE most senses (heck, many Aspies wear earplugs, goggles, etc. to do this!), and conversation could be a game of how many topics can I talk about in X time, depth doesn't matter. Basically, explicitly spell out the numbers games that NT's like to play with friend count, topic count, or (if they're jerks) lay count.

Sounds like someone else had already done it.

http://www.jamesmw.com/2.htm


He creates that test to show NTs what it's like for autistic people. Just click on the arrows at the bottom to go through the tests.

That test was a doozy, and I'm autistic.

Make sure there are lots of confusing noises, background movements and bright lights, too.