Playmation: A Manipulative Story Animation System to Improve Language, Theory of Mind, and Sequencing Skills in Children with Autism

The Playmation prototype by Intelligent Automation, Inc, utilizes new technology to integrate the powerful learning modalities of touch and manupulation within the familiar instructional paradigm of picture and sentence strips. This system enables a child to create a three-dimensional character and move that character across a picture strip to communicate a story. A web camera conenected to a computer captures the movement, machine vision software identifies the child's play patterns, and story software translates these patterns into an animated movie or a printable storybook. Children using this system may improve in sequencing, theory of mind, and language skills- especially in the case of children with autism. Playmation is marketed as an education maniupulative product in four principal markets: (1)public and private Pre-K-3 education; (2) Reading First and directly related programs; (3) Head Start pre-school programs; and (4) IDEA/Special Education .