Catch the Bus©: Development and validation of a gamified travel training application for students with exceptionalities

Early attempts to teach travel training to people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDDs) utilized simulation, role playing, and prompting systems; however, these studies utilized interventions that were not age appropriate. More recently, non-interactive computer-based video instruction has been shown to be temporarily effective in teaching young adults diagnosed with IDDs how to signal the bus driver when they wanted to disembark, but the lack of interactivity precluded lasting outcomes. To address this gap, the authors document the creation of a gamified training application, Catch the Bus©(CtB), that uses gamification dynamics, mechanisms, and components. Through the lenses of goal-setting theory, the technology acceptance model, and social cognitive theory CtB training emulates progression as users acquire skills necessary to scaffold to the next level of training. CtB training explicitly focuses on elapsed time to (a) circumvent the expectation of conventions of near-instantaneous travel often associated with video games, and (b) foster time management skills. To explore the effectiveness of CtB training, a mixed methods pilot case study was conducted with individuals having IDDs. The study focused on the efficacy and impact of CtB training on participants’ skills and anxiety related to public transit. Findings indicate that CtB training resulted in an increase in participants’ self-efficacy in terms of planning a bus trip to new destinations, utilizing bus route maps, and transferring buses correctly. Additionally, CtB training decreased participants’ anxiety associated with public transportation usage and increased participants’ confidence in navigating public transit.