Although many of the tools shown here make use of gaming principles to motivate students with ASD, this page is reserved for those tools that have a principal object to be seen as a 'game' rather than a program or learning device.
SIMmersion is an interactive computer simulation of conversation that can aid students with ASD to improve the appropriateness of their interactions. Please see video on the page. The game-like function comes from the feedback page, where students can earn 'points' for the number of well executed verbal interactions.
The Secret Agent game (developed at University of Queensland, Austr.) is good to explore for conversation skills and it is is also cross-listed under Social skills training.
I include the Collaborative Puzzle Game in this section as well as it has been shown to improve Narrative skills along with the social skill of collaboration and turn taking.
The use of Gaming programs for high functioning subjects in the classroom such as Alice and Scratch as been shown to improve communication and writing in this population.
Using Game design as a way to increase your students' interest in narrative and written structure is a great way to harness the power of the visual domain for this group, particularly when they are involved in creating and designing their own game environments. A number of groups have started collecting valuable data on this effect. I will include data here from a camp/ after school program in VA (M. Talovier) and ongoing research at the MIT Media Lab in conjunction with Boston's public Schools.