A Neurodiversity Design Approach to Design Research About Gamification of Cognitive Ability Training and Learning

This study aimed to empathize with a neurodiversity of adult learners’ expressed interests about the kinds of learning features or learning experiences they desire from a cognitive ability training game. It also aimed to then explore how to translate their interests into design and development of features in a cognitive ability training game. The study used a neurodiversity design approach which intentionally includes both participants with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism and ADHD and participants without neurodevelopmental conditions in the same study. The study used empathy interviews, empathy maps, and personas to empathize with participants’ interests. The study used user story writing, story mapping, and feature mapping to translate their interests into the design and development of the game features. The study found participants wanted cognitive ability training games to include a pleasant, consistent visual style, informational features, motivational features, and variety of complexity and content in the game modes.