Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum

Sena Beste Ercan; Olga Galí Pérez; Belén González Mateo; Óscar Delgado Rueda; Andreu Castaño; Gray Atherton; Liam Cross; Narcís Parés

doi:10.1145/3713043.3731483

Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum

Sena Beste Ercan
, Olga Galí Pérez
, Belén González Mateo
, Óscar Delgado Rueda
, Andreu Castaño
, Gray Atherton
, Liam Cross
, Narcís Parés

Pompeu Fabra University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceedings published in a book › peer-review

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Abstract

Interpersonal Synchrony (IPS), the temporal coordination of actions between individuals, plays a crucial role in fostering social interactions, emotion regulation, and communication. While previous research has explored IPS in dyadic settings, little is known about how it can be supported in multi-user full-body interactive environments, especially for neurodivergent populations. This study presents an iterative design investigation of DragonIce, a full-body interactive experience aimed at promoting IPS among children on the Autism Spectrum (AS). Building on findings from a prior study involving 12 male students with autism, we implemented and tested two targeted interaction design modifications: (1) enhanced visual feedback and (2) the introduction of a hand-held object. The results revealed a significant improvement in behavioral synchrony following refinements and a positive trend in perceived synchrony and user experience, highlighting how specific interaction design elements shape user experience and perceived synchrony in group-based settings. This work contributes to creating knowledge on how interaction design can be strategically employed to foster IPS, offering new directions for inclusive and socially supportive full-body experiences for neurodivergent children.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	IDC '25: Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages	779-783
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400714733
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3713043.3731483
Publication status	Published - 23 Jun 2025

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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

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Ercan, S. B., Pérez, O. G., Mateo, B. G., Rueda, Ó. D., Castaño, A., Atherton, G., Cross, L., & Parés, N. (2025). Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum. In IDC '25: Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children (pp. 779-783). Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). https://doi.org/10.1145/3713043.3731483

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title = "Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum",

abstract = "Interpersonal Synchrony (IPS), the temporal coordination of actions between individuals, plays a crucial role in fostering social interactions, emotion regulation, and communication. While previous research has explored IPS in dyadic settings, little is known about how it can be supported in multi-user full-body interactive environments, especially for neurodivergent populations. This study presents an iterative design investigation of DragonIce, a full-body interactive experience aimed at promoting IPS among children on the Autism Spectrum (AS). Building on findings from a prior study involving 12 male students with autism, we implemented and tested two targeted interaction design modifications: (1) enhanced visual feedback and (2) the introduction of a hand-held object. The results revealed a significant improvement in behavioral synchrony following refinements and a positive trend in perceived synchrony and user experience, highlighting how specific interaction design elements shape user experience and perceived synchrony in group-based settings. This work contributes to creating knowledge on how interaction design can be strategically employed to foster IPS, offering new directions for inclusive and socially supportive full-body experiences for neurodivergent children.",

author = "Ercan, \{Sena Beste\} and P{\'e}rez, \{Olga Gal{\'i}\} and Mateo, \{Bel{\'e}n Gonz{\'a}lez\} and Rueda, \{{\'O}scar Delgado\} and Andreu Casta{\~n}o and Gray Atherton and Liam Cross and Narc{\'i}s Par{\'e}s",

note = "Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s). IDC {\textquoteright}25, Reykjavik, Iceland {\textcopyright} 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "23",

doi = "10.1145/3713043.3731483",

language = "English",

pages = "779--783",

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Ercan, SB, Pérez, OG, Mateo, BG, Rueda, ÓD, Castaño, A, Atherton, G , Cross, L & Parés, N 2025, Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum. in IDC '25: Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), pp. 779-783. https://doi.org/10.1145/3713043.3731483

Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum. / Ercan, Sena Beste; Pérez, Olga Galí; Mateo, Belén González et al.
IDC '25: Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2025. p. 779-783.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceedings published in a book › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum

AU - Ercan, Sena Beste

AU - Pérez, Olga Galí

AU - Mateo, Belén González

AU - Rueda, Óscar Delgado

AU - Castaño, Andreu

AU - Atherton, Gray

AU - Cross, Liam

AU - Parés, Narcís

N1 - Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s). IDC ’25, Reykjavik, Iceland © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

PY - 2025/6/23

Y1 - 2025/6/23

N2 - Interpersonal Synchrony (IPS), the temporal coordination of actions between individuals, plays a crucial role in fostering social interactions, emotion regulation, and communication. While previous research has explored IPS in dyadic settings, little is known about how it can be supported in multi-user full-body interactive environments, especially for neurodivergent populations. This study presents an iterative design investigation of DragonIce, a full-body interactive experience aimed at promoting IPS among children on the Autism Spectrum (AS). Building on findings from a prior study involving 12 male students with autism, we implemented and tested two targeted interaction design modifications: (1) enhanced visual feedback and (2) the introduction of a hand-held object. The results revealed a significant improvement in behavioral synchrony following refinements and a positive trend in perceived synchrony and user experience, highlighting how specific interaction design elements shape user experience and perceived synchrony in group-based settings. This work contributes to creating knowledge on how interaction design can be strategically employed to foster IPS, offering new directions for inclusive and socially supportive full-body experiences for neurodivergent children.

AB - Interpersonal Synchrony (IPS), the temporal coordination of actions between individuals, plays a crucial role in fostering social interactions, emotion regulation, and communication. While previous research has explored IPS in dyadic settings, little is known about how it can be supported in multi-user full-body interactive environments, especially for neurodivergent populations. This study presents an iterative design investigation of DragonIce, a full-body interactive experience aimed at promoting IPS among children on the Autism Spectrum (AS). Building on findings from a prior study involving 12 male students with autism, we implemented and tested two targeted interaction design modifications: (1) enhanced visual feedback and (2) the introduction of a hand-held object. The results revealed a significant improvement in behavioral synchrony following refinements and a positive trend in perceived synchrony and user experience, highlighting how specific interaction design elements shape user experience and perceived synchrony in group-based settings. This work contributes to creating knowledge on how interaction design can be strategically employed to foster IPS, offering new directions for inclusive and socially supportive full-body experiences for neurodivergent children.

UR - https://doi.org/10.1145/3713043.3731483

UR - https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/psy-research/1252/

U2 - 10.1145/3713043.3731483

DO - 10.1145/3713043.3731483

M3 - Conference proceedings published in a book

SP - 779

EP - 783

BT - IDC '25: Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children

PB - Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

ER -

Iterative Design for Enhancing Synchrony in Full-body Interactive Experiences for Children on the Autism Spectrum

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