Educational games for children with special needs: preliminary design

Abstract

This paper is focused on the problems and limitations that children with special needs have while playing. These problems can be mental or physical, and both types cause several barriers in the moment of play. The objective of this paper is the development of an educational game, using a microcontroller and some derived components. This solution can transmit to the player different sensations and levels of playability keeping the child focused and interested in the game. Also, all plays made by the child will be registered and presented to the therapist/parents on a computer or smartphone, making the toy a useful tool to analyze child's evolution. The game will be controlled by an Arduino microchip and the communication to the device will be performed by an ESP8266 Wi-Fi module. Playing the game, children will be able to exercise specially their arms and hands muscles and to stimulate their mind.