New Video Game Aims to Improve Capacities of Autistic People

Researchers have developed a new video game to help children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improve their balance. (AFP)
Researchers have developed a new video game to help children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improve their balance. (AFP)
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New Video Game Aims to Improve Capacities of Autistic People

Researchers have developed a new video game to help children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improve their balance. (AFP)
Researchers have developed a new video game to help children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improve their balance. (AFP)

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a new video game to help children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improve their balance.

Study lead author Brittany Travers explained that balance challenges are more common among people with ASD compared to the broader population, reported the German news agency (dpa).

She added: “We think this video game-based training could be a unique way to help individuals with ASD who have challenges with their balance address these issues.”

In the game, players are rewarded for doing certain poses and postures, which indirectly helps them promote their capacity to maintain balance and posture.

The gaming system uses a Microsoft Kinect camera and a Nintendo Wii balance board connected to software developed on a Windows platform using Adobe Air.

“Players see themselves on the screen doing different ‘ninja’ poses and postures, and they are rewarded for doing those poses and postures. That’s how they advance in the game,” said Travers.

In this pilot study, 29 ASD participants between the ages of 7 and 17 completed a six-week training program playing a video game developed by the researchers.

By the end of the program, study participants showed significant improvements in not only their in-game poses, but also their balance and posture outside of the game environment.



Nepal Hosts Hot Air Balloon Festival

Hot air balloons rise in sky during the international festival at Pokhara in Nepal on December 25, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
Hot air balloons rise in sky during the international festival at Pokhara in Nepal on December 25, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
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Nepal Hosts Hot Air Balloon Festival

Hot air balloons rise in sky during the international festival at Pokhara in Nepal on December 25, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
Hot air balloons rise in sky during the international festival at Pokhara in Nepal on December 25, 2024. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

With Nepal's snowy Himalayan peaks as a backdrop, the sky above Pokhara transformed into a vibrant canvas of colors for the country's first hot-air balloon festival.

Tourism is a major earner for Nepal, which saw over a million foreign visitors this year after a post-pandemic bounceback, and investments are being made in hotels and airports to cater to travelers.

"We felt that we must bring a balloon festival like this to Nepal," Sabin Maharjan, an organizer of the event, told AFP.

Hot-air balloons from more than 10 countries participated in the festival.

"A ride here can be very exciting as you can see mountains, hills and lakes," Maharjan added.

"All passengers tell us that they are very happy -- such a festival will boost our tourism."

The balloons created a mesmerizing display against a stunning sight of the snow-capped Annapurna range.

"It is spectacular," American balloon pilot Derek Hamcock, 67, said.

"As soon as you go above the small range here you see all the Himalayas. Unbelievable, every time you see them it is unbelievable."

Balloons shaped as a rat and a frog from were among those joining in the fun, slowly drifting with the breeze.

"You never know where you are going," said Diego Criado del Rey, 29, a balloon pilot from Spain.

"So it is pretty much you and the nature -- not fighting, but being together. You go where the nature tells you."

Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority issued a notice for the skies over Pokhara for a duration of nine days to allow balloon flights.

Although more than two centuries have passed since France's Montgolfier brothers made the first manned flight, ballooning can still capture the imagination.