Connecting through Kinect: Designing and Evaluating a Collaborative Game with and for Autistic Individuals

My name is Rayan Arab, and I pursued a major in psychology and a minor in disability studies throughout my four years at CSI. My interest in psychology began from my drive to become more educated in the field of mind and behavior, and my drive to minor in disability studies started from the glimpse inside of the world of disabilities that I had learned throughout my independent research studies.

        My journey in the field of psychology and disability studies started at the beginning of the Fall 2015 semester. As a college freshmen, I began to come across different independent studies and my research lead to discovering Project REACH. Project REACH at the College of Staten Island is ran by Dr. Kristen Gillespie-Lynch, who has became my mentor in my undergraduate experience. Project REACH involves a various amount of resources and educational tools involving Autism. Project REACH provides mentorship to students who are on the autism spectrum or have other disabilities. Before my capstone research, autism was just one idea of disability to me, however, throughout my involvement in this field I have learned the greatness of this disorder. In specifics, autism has various amount of severity that ranges from very moderate to very severe, and it is typically characterized by difficulty in social situations, impairment in communication, and a restricted pattern of behavior and interests.

Rayan presenting at CSI's Undergraduate Research Conference

            Throughout my honors capstone, my interest heightened from realizing that autism is a rapidly growing disorder that continues to grow for many years now.  It was out curiosity that I became so passionate to understand and communicate with children one on one to recognize strengths and weaknesses that range in autism.Other than mentoring a college student with autism, were I became a tutor, and a friend, I then became a part of a research group involving both the computer science department and psychology department.  As a team, we are progressing towards the better use of technology to assist in communication and emotional stabilization for people on the autism spectrum. This progression led to the development of a serious game “Connecting through Kinect: Designing and Evaluating a Collaborative Game with and for Autistic Individuals.”

                  My involvement in the development of this game involved spending at least nine hours a week in the past three years researching, coding videos of individuals with autism and without testing our game, and working towards creating a more solid foundation to grow on in the years ahead. Throughout my research, I also was able to identify whether a game to support collaborative learning in people on the spectrum is practical. I was able to evaluate and decipher between responses of the mentee I was working with in regards to the effects of the Project REACH program, and the serious game.
My honors capstone helped me find a passion that I plan to continue to pursue after college, I have found a career within the field of disabilities that I will always thank Project REACH, my mentee, Faraz H., and my mentor Dr. Kristen Gillespie-Lynch for. I have experienced more than I ever imagined I would when beginning my journey for an independent research study and I will continue to this path far after college.