Musical Versus Narrated Serious Games Versions Effects in Toddlers and Children with ASD: A Comparative Study
摘要
Previous studies indicate that music is considered an effective tool to improve memory and learning, especially in kindergartners or children with certain types of psychosocial disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). On the other hand, in recent decades, it has been shown that serious games related to educational content complementarily support early childhood and inclusive education, generating active learning experiences. The present study hypothesizes that serious games generate greater attention in infants and children with ASD when the narrated content that accompanies them adopts musicalization as the primary audiovisual format for their realization. Following a qualitative-quantitative mixed method, we analyze the increase in motivation and degree of interest when using an educational game working with a sample of infants between three and four years old and children with mild or medium-level ASD. For this purpose, the results of using a mobile game application called “Mi Rutina” in its narrated story version versus the sung story version, addressing the duplicate content, are contrasted. The results indicate a higher degree of attention and repetition of content as a sign of learning when listening and singing the songs included in the App. However, no significant changes were evidenced in the attention of children with ASD. Therefore, it is recommended that the scope of the study be expanded to support children's cognitive development by using innovative alternatives of serious game sets that incorporate music.