curl-6 on 10 March 2016
| Volterra_90 said: That's interesting! I'm not an autist, but I was (and I'm still struggling with it) a totally social inept in my childhood. I had a lot of problems getting on with my school mates, and I went through some psychological therapies to overcome my social problems. So even if it's not the spectrum you're asking for, maybe my own experience will be helpful for you. So, videogames acted like a therapy to me, and they helped me to establish bonds with other people at school. I remember being incapable to talk with anyone, so the usual was to see me with my GBC in a distant corner of the playground playing games. Focusing in something I really loved helped me to go through the hell that school was for me. Though it seems that this acted in the opposed way making me feel more isolated, in the end it was my first step to overcome my social issues. So, what I'm going to say might some weird or even ridiculous, but this first step wasn't the therapies, it was called Pokémon xDDD. It had a huge impact in my childhood, and probably in my entire life. Why? Pokémon was a phenomenom back in those days. So, when people saw me playing in that bloody corner, they started to approach me with their own GBCs to ask for a battle, or just trading Pokémons. Seeing people who share the same passion as me, and who started to talk to me willingly was a huge impact for me. It was a painfully slow process, but I started to open up with those people. With time, I really felt I could trust some people, so meetings for gaming in our homes began. I really have very fond memories of playing videogames in my friends' houses, and having some laughs with them. And one of my most vivid childhood memories was the first time I brought friends at home. My parents were there, and they were literally crying when they see me with some other people, laughing with them, and having fun. They became the biggest videogames' defenders with other parents when they saw that, even making some conferences back in my town about the benefits of gaming on people with social issues. So, here you go, I don't know if this would be helpful, but it's my honest experience with videogames and the process of overcoming social issues and their important part that they had in my life. Pretty interesting topic if you ask me, so good luck with your conference ;) |
Thanks heaps man, that does actually help a lot; that's an angle I hadnt considered yet, that it can be a tool for sociliazing.
