Today is World Hearing Day, an initiative of the World Health Organization. This year’s theme: don’t let hearing loss limit you! How can you as a family or friend contribute to a child with a hearing impairment being able to thrive as much as possible? That question kept Johan – technical director at 8D – quite busy last year during his research for sign game Handlantis, a collaboration with Pento Audiological Center Friesland. Learning sign language becomes more accessible with this game. Read here how Johan experienced the co-creation process with the target group and his introduction to Dutch Sign Language (NmG).
‘The idea to make a sign game came from our former colleague Harold,’ says Johan. ‘He himself is the father of a child with a hearing disorder and noticed that those around him often find it exciting to start learning sign language. Even though it is important to practice early and often, also for the social-emotional development of the child. So the idea was born to use storytelling and game principles to lower that threshold and make the learning process more fun. Of course, this is only possible with sufficient input from subject matter experts. Fortunately, we could count on the help of Pento Audiological Center Friesland.
The game Handlantis is a low-threshold introduction to Dutch with Signs (NmG). This is a so-called ‘contact language’, a hybrid between Dutch and Dutch Sign Language. While speaking, important words are emphasized with a gesture, which is very helpful for people with a hearing impairment. Johan: “When you have a conversation with someone in pairs, it is nice if both parties do their best to understand each other, even if you can only do a few basic gestures to support your story.
The importance of this was immediately apparent at the start of the project. Johan: “In the context of design thinking we started with research and interviews with the target group: hearing-impaired children and their parents. I thought it would be fun and useful to learn some sign language myself beforehand so that I could introduce myself to the children. It was very special to see what happened when they noticed that I had made that effort: they were immediately more relaxed. Did I make anything of it? Not much, probably. But making an effort for each other is also communication; it shows that you want to understand the other person.
Why do games for healthcare still regularly end up on the shelf, rather than with the end user? We sat down with a researcher, an innovation manager, a physician and a business expert to answer this question. Download the whitepaper for lots of insights and recommendations!
Communication involves more than just language. That is why other themes were also included in the development of the sign game Handlantis. Johan: ‘The game not only deals with gestures, but also the preconditions for good communication. How can eye contact help in the conversation with a hearing-impaired person and how do you deal with environmental factors? When the whole family knows these prerequisites for communication, it makes the world of the hearing-impaired child a lot bigger and more fun. All the gestures have been selected by Pento specialists, so the practice situations fit well with daily practice.’
Recently, Handlantis was nominated for the Siméa Innovation Award, part of the Siméa Congress. This congress focuses on the maximum stimulation of communication and everything that comes with it. From social skills to language development. Johan: ‘Handlantis ties in nicely with these themes. Just by making these things discussable in a playful way, you take away a lot of discomfort and make learning sign language a lot more accessible. In any case, I found it fantastic to put myself in the shoes of the target group for this project, to become acquainted with sign and to engage in the co-creation process. The test moments and interviews made a big impression on me.’
Currently, Handlantis is integrated into Pento Audiological Center’s teaching packages. There are plans to make the game available to everyone soon at www.handlantis.nl.
At 8D, we support researchers in integrating a design approach into their work, from project design to creative product development and process supervision. This participatory methodologies help solve complex, human-centered issues and embed research results sustainably in society.
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Why do games for healthcare still regularly end up on the shelf, rather than with the end user? We sat down with a researcher, an innovation manager, a physician and a business expert to answer this question. Download the whitepaper for lots of insights and recommendations!
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