Implementing Gamification for Blind and Autistic People with Tangible Interfaces, Extended Reality, and Universal Design for Learning: Two Case Studies

Abstract

The present study investigates the use of gamification to foster commitment and engagement among users with disabilities. Two case studies demonstrating the application of gamification are provided. The first is the development of an application to teach a blind person Mexican currency, and the second one is the creation of an application to aid individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in navigating their environment. The study reveals that universal design for learning principles can be used indirectly to adjust apps for users to utilize the software consistently. This study provides preliminary evaluations for both case studies, which were undertaken with relatively small samples. The first case study revealed that three blind individuals who took part in the review scored an average of 91.7 on the system usability scale. At the same time, the second case study involving the observation of a single individual with ASD also revealed that utilizing the designed app improved performance. Despite the limited sample size, the findings suggest that gamification may effectively encourage and generate commitment among the users with disabilities.

Keywords

• gamification
• blind user
• autism spectrum disorder
• tangible user interface
• extended reality