GNomon: Enabling Dynamic One-Switch Games for Children with Severe Motor Disabilities

Abstract

Nowadays, video games represent one of the most popular forms of structured play. They allow children to enjoy very entertaining game mechanics, a variety of game genres and novel modes of interaction. However, this is not always the case for children with severe motor disabilities that rely on one-switch interfaces to access electronic devices. This work in progress presents GNomon, a framework based on the NOMON interaction modality which enables the creation of dynamic, entertaining and complex one-switch video games for children with severe motor disabilities. The framework was designed in close collaboration with a team of speech therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists from one of the Local Health Agencies in Turin, Italy. We also report the design and implementation of two GNomon-based games, which have already been accepted by the health agency experts to be tested with a group of their assisted children.