What makes Minecraft so fun to play (and also why it is a perfect game for children with autism) is there are no rules, no clear objectives, and no winning or losing. Kids are free to create and experiment in the world as they wish. For younger children developing early play skills, a lot can be worked on in the realm of Minecraft, including imitation, taking turns, observational learning, and pretend play. Setting up a server and playing Minecraft with a child is a good way to work on these skills that can be difficult to target in real world situations.

If playing Minecraft as a reward or reinforcer for a child you are working with, you can turn this downtime into a virtual play session and work on crucial skills. This requires some setup and an additional computer; however, imagine being able to engage the child in their world, a world that the child is imagining and creating – more importantly, a world where the child wants to engage. You and the child can work together to build structures or even play hide-and-seek. Exposing the child to games like hide-and-seek or tag in Minecraft can help the child when he or she encounters these games in the real world.

For older children with autism who struggle with socialization, Minecraft can be a great bridge or conversation starter. Since Minecraft is so popular, the game can provide a virtual place for socialization and interaction between children with autism and typically developing peers. Also, since many children with autism excel with technology, Minecraft being no exception, there’s an opportunity for children with autism to help their peers and reveal their expertise. This can be a great equalizer between children with autism and their typically developing peers to help improve self-esteem and foster new friendships.

One highly important precaution to consider when setting up and maintaining these online worlds is monitoring content and conversation. Cyberbullying is prevalent in online communities and can turn any positive environment into a negative one. Fortunately, the Minecraft community has had some amazing people step up and facilitate environments where negativity is not tolerated. The Minecraft server Autcraft, for instance, was established by a father of a child with autism and is a place where players need to be “whitelisted” or approved to play. There are also rules of conduct that are enforced by moderators. Autcraft is a great place to start if you are concerned about who or what may be on the other side of the computer.

If you’ve never played Minecraft before, I encourage you to give it a shot. It will open up a whole new world of possibilities for introducing new skills and concepts to children with autism.

Have you used Minecraft when working with a child? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Benefits of Minecraft for Children with Autism appeared first on PixelAtion Labs.

1. Scavenger Hunt

If you are working on object labels or lessons like features or functions, you can create lists for the child to take pictures of around the house. If the child can’t read, you can stay with him or her and read the labels out loud. You can even time the child and have them try to beat their record!

Sample Lists:

Objects: Cup, ball, desk, pencil, clock, etc.

Features: Something with a nose, something with hair, etc.

Functions: Something you can drink with, something you can use to eat, etc.

2. Cause and Effect Videos

Teaching cause and effect is challenging because of the difficulty involved in breaking down and separating out cause and effect during real time events. One way to deal with this is using the camera to take a video of an event. Play back the video with the child, pausing time to time to talk through what is happening and the relationship between the two events.

3. Perspective Taking/Knowing

Perspective taking is an important skill for children with autism to learn but it is often very difficult to teach. One way I’ve worked on this was using the camera to show my perspective. I was playing hide and seek with one of my kiddos and his feet were sticking out from below the curtain. I took a picture of what I saw and we talked about how I knew where he was hiding. We also discussed what he would need to do to be more hidden.

4. Conversation Training

FaceTime and Skype video chat are useful for practicing conversation. Since technology is more engaging for some children, the use of video chat can help them focus more on the conversation at hand. I’ve used video chat with a kiddo and his eye contact actually improved during these conversations because he was less distracted by other things.

5. Gross Motor Modeling

Gross motor skills are difficult for some kids and the use of video modeling in addition to physical prompting can help them learn these skills quicker. If you don’t have a third person available when working on gross motor skills, you can take a video of yourself performing the action, play the video for the child, and then help physically prompt them as they try to mimic what they are seeing.

How have you used a smartphone’s camera to create learning opportunities?

The post 5 Ways to Use Your Smartphone’s Camera to Create Learning Opportunities appeared first on PixelAtion Labs.

When I started as a therapist many years ago, the reward (or reinforcer) for finishing activities was usually a preferred toy of some sort. Blocks, paper airplanes, and plastic dinosaurs are examples of the types of toys kids wanted back in the day. These activities were great because they offered a chance to interact with the child, work on appropriate play skills, and generalize the skills and language that the child had learned during those more structured trials.

However, as tablets and mobile phones increased in popularity and accessibility, these devices quickly became the preferred activity of many of the children I worked with. After completing an activity, kids wanted to play a game on the phone, take pictures with the camera, or watch a video on YouTube. While highly motivating for the child, time spent on the phone meant lost learning opportunities. A child playing on a tablet or phone doesn’t get the chance to socialize with someone else, practice play skills, or generalize the skills and language that he or she had learned.

This is the common perception but this doesn’t have to be the case.

While a child may lose the chance to work on some of the motor skills associated with building blocks or throwing a ball, the wide array of apps and games available provide many (if not more) learning opportunities as long as you know how to use what’s out there.

This blog will focus on finding and highlighting the ways existing apps can be leveraged to target many of the skills and language that are so important to generalize.

If you have an app that your child loves, send us an email at

appreview@pixelationlabs.com.

 We will take a look at the app and find new ways to use it to generalize skills and language.

The post Finding New Uses for Existing Technology appeared first on PixelAtion Labs.