Development of Game-Based System for Improvement of the Left-Right Recognition Ability in Children with Down Syndrome

摘要

Down Syndrome (DS) is one of the most common genetic disorder worldwide and the most common cause of intellectual disability, which generates problems regarding the functionality and independence to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). This work proposes the development of a serious game-based system motivated by the results of a study concerning children with Down Syndrome (DS) and their laterality (left-right recognition) difficulty. This preliminary study was carried out using a system designed with the purpose to evaluate the children's functional performance through data acquired using an RGB-D camera Kinect v2. This system uses a performance assessment protocol to analyze the laterality ability in children, providing a mirror-type visual feedback to the user. Thirteen participants (twelve with DS and one without DS) with ages between nine and ten years old were evaluated. In this evaluation, the children's success percentage in distinguishing left from right was only 30.0%, confirming their laterality issue. Based on this preliminary validation, the serious game-based system was implemented as a proposal of an intelligent environment for the development of the right and left recognition. In general, children with DS are not able to pay attention for as much time as typical children. Thus, this game was designed to keep children interested and therefore focused on the task assigned, accelerating the learning. The game system acquires and processes parameters acquired by the Kinect and it aims to function as an intervention system that complements conventional therapies in helping the children to more efficiently develop their skills.