Supported Communication (SC) is the use of alternative forms and means of communication for people who do not speak or who have difficulty speaking. For children with a communicative disability, it is very important that the environment is familiar with SC. With the Deelkracht Foundation, we investigate how a game about Supported Communication can help parents and professionals find a suitable form of communication, together with the child.
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Assisted Communication takes many forms. Think of gestures, pictograms, speech computers and so on. People with communication disabilities can participate better when this kind of support is used in their social circle. After all: if you can indicate what you need, you can better organise your life the way you want.
There is a lot of knowledge about SC, but unfortunately this knowledge does not always reach parents and professionals yet. Moreover, communication problems and communication solutions are very diverse. This makes it difficult for parents and professionals to actually start using SC in the unique situation with their child or client.
ApproachRead more about: Serious games in Healthcare
In a joint design process, we investigated how serious gaming could help parents/professionals and children find the right form of SC together. During a Problem Storm and Brainstorm we clearly mapped out the problem and various solution options – together with the target groups. The 8D Games team then further developed the best-fit solution in a wireframe. This is a functional representation of how the player could use the game. A wireframe makes the idea ‘tangible’ and testable at an early stage.
We work from a social design perspective, with co-creation as the central focus. At crucial moments, we validate assumptions and proposals with the target groups: during the preliminary research, as well as throughout the development and implementation of an intervention. At the same time, we value maintaining momentum in the project, making decisions, and ensuring clear and concrete actions. Discover how we combine iterative processes and pragmatism in our own social design methodology, consisting of eight steps that we navigate together with partners and target groups.
ResultsThe first functional version of the game is expected to be delivered in September 2023. Children and professionals/parents deal with a variety of everyday situations using different rooms. With simple pictograms, players practise expressing wants and needs, making comments and other communicative functions. There is also the possibility to draw pictograms yourself and watch videos with tips & tricks. This makes the game broadly applicable to children with different needs and challenges. The most effective form of Supported Communication is created together – and with the help of the game, it is also a lot of fun.
Initiator and project leader Madelon Toussaint: ‘Supported Communication can be used anywhere – and often people already do it without realising it. But if you make them use it too consciously, they suddenly don’t dare or it feels complicated to learn. The game wants to jump into that gap: we make SC accessible, take the pressure off to do it perfectly. It’s mainly about having fun together and connecting.’
