ABS399 - Can do? Does do? Understanding children with Down syndrome’s responses to the development of an app. - Board 17

This poster presents quantitative and qualitative data from three iterative cycles of developing a bespoke App for children with down Syndrome. The aim of the App was to support children’s awareness of quantity through an inclusive game. Their responses to the digital game are considered alongside that of a non-digital card game. 
Data from the cycles chart the shift towards hands- on engagement as the format of the game evolved to find the optimal levels of challenge. More importantly, data signaled the interrelationship between children’s cognitive and affective responses to the digital game. This raises the important issue of the meaning of errors or mistakes for individuals. Children appeared to understand and position the game in different ways. This shaped their likely continuation when they encountered difficulty. On the one hand, these data illustrate the importance of finding the optimal level of challenge through aligning the game mechanic to the target skills, strengthening levels of access and careful gradations of attentional demand. On the other, they highlight contextual contributors to children’s engagement with the activity and the likelihood of it serving as a learning tool.