Video games may improve posture in autistic kids

New York, Nov 22 (IANS) Children who suffer from autism often have difficulty in maintaining a normal posture and position. But video games might help these children and enable them to improve their balance.

Autism is a lifelong neuro-developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, impaired verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behaviour.

The study, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, stated that video games, which are devised with action-based games involving quick movements and graphics with ninja poses help autistic kids to improve their postural stability and impaired daily activities.

"We think this video game-based training could be a unique way to help individuals with autism who have challenges with their balance address these issues," said Brittany Travers, Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US.

The researchers reviewed participants affected with autism spectrum disorder, aged between 7 and 17 years to study the effects of balance training.

The researchers used a gaming system with a Microsoft Kinect camera and a Nintendo Wii balance board connected to software.

The results showed that the study participants made significant improvements in not only their in-game poses but also their balance and posture outside of the game environment.

The participants could see themselves on the screen doing different ninja poses and postures while playing the video games.

Previous studies have shown that playing video games also helped in rehabilitating stroke patients.

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