Publication
Title
Experiences of neurodivergent people when playing an educational video game about their own diagnosis
Author
Abstract
This paper discusses how participants with diagnoses of autism, psychosis, or OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) experienced playing an educational video game about that same diagnosis. Rather than having participants make a specific assessment of the video game they played, the gameplay was used as a creative task to trigger reflection on their experiences with neurodivergent perceptions and knowledge. Central was the phenomenological question of what it means for someone to play a video game intended to communicate to outsiders a vision of neurodiversity that also represents (parts of) their lived experience. The study is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 10 adult participants. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, three main themes were formulated: (1) working with and around the diagnostic label, (2) the paradox of understanding, and (3) the serious nature of play. Then, several theoretical implications concerning the performative effects of a psychiatric diagnosis, cross-neurotype communication, and inclusive definitions of play are formulated. The paper concludes that playing video games during the interviews formed a good conversation starter for sharing neurodiversity-related experiences, which also demonstrates their meaningful complementarity to traditional interview-based qualitative research.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Scandinavian journal of disability research. - -
Publication
2023
ISSN
1501-7419
1745-3011
DOI
10.16993/SJDR.1037
Volume/pages
25 :1 (2023) , p. 320-333
ISI
001105500800005
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 09.01.2024
Last edited 11.01.2024
To cite this reference