CHI 2019 Paper CHI 2019, May 4–9, 2019, Glasgow, Scotland, UK A Place to Play The (Dis)Abled Embodied Experience for Autistic Children in Online Spaces Kathryn E. Ringland Department of Communication Studies Northwestern University Chicago, IL, USA [email protected] ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION Play is the work of children—but access to play is not equal from child to child. Having access to a place to play Play is the work of children—but access to play is not is a challenge for marginalized children, such as children equal from child to child. This is true for children with 1 with disabilities. For autistic children, playing with other disabilities, including autistic children , where playing children in the physical world may be uncomfortable or with other children in the physical world may be uncom- even painful. Yet, having practice in the social skills play fortable or painful [51]. Yet, having practice social skills provides is essential for childhood development. In this play provides is essential for childhood development [26]. ethnographic work, I explore how one community uses One way to help autistic children gain access to play the sense of place and the digital embodied experience in a and socialization is through online spaces, such as social virtual world specifically to give autistic children access to media and virtual worlds [9,10,59]. This paper extends play with their peers. The contribution of this work is previous work in this area, by exploring the disabled em- twofold. First, I demonstrate how various physical and vir- bodied experience and how that affects access to play. tual spaces work together to make play possible. Second, I Access, in general, is not a given experience for any one demonstrate these spaces, though some of them are digi- person. When access is faulty or denied, disability is cre- tal, are no more or less “real” than the physical spaces ated in that moment [20]. Disability “is not simply lodged making up a schoolyard or playground. in the body but created by the social and material condi- tions that ‘dis-able’ the full participation of a variety of CCS CONCEPTS minds and bodies” [25]. As both a person’s body and their • Human-centered computing → Accessibility; Accessibility environment are constantly in flux, then we can say that a theory, concepts and paradigms disabled person is not disabled all of the time, but rather, they are disabled by the context (i.e., the world with its KEYWORDS: Disability; Inclusion; Autism; Communica- objects and the body itself) with which they are trying to tion; Social Interaction; Virtual Worlds; Social Media; engage. As Disability Scholar Titchkosky states, “While Embodied Experience. we all have bodies—bodies that we act, sense, feel, or ACM Reference format: move in and through—only some bodies, only some of the Ringland, Kathryn E. 2019. A Place to Play: The (Dis)Abled Embodied time and only in some places, are understood as disabled Experience for Autistic Children in Online Spaces. In 2019 CHI Confer- ones” [65:4]. Access, therefore, is dynamic and ever shift- ence on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings (CHI 2019), May ing. 4–9, 2019, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. ACM, New York, NY, USA. Paper 288, 12 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300518 The embodied experience often goes unnoticed and un- remarked. In contrast, the disabled embodied experience Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or highlights when a body does not fit into the world creat- classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed ing a remarkable experience for the disabled body [23]. To for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full cita- tion on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than be “normal” is the expectation that is assumed all other ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permis- human beings strive for, with every able-body striving to sion and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]). CHI 2019, May 4–9, 2019, Glasgow, Scotland UK © 2019 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM. 1 ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-5970-2/19/05…$15.00 Person-first disability language (e.g., child with autism) and identity-first language https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300518 (.e.g., autistic child) are used interchangeably throughout this paper, as is the cus- tom in the community I worked with. Paper 288 Page 1 CHI 2019 Paper CHI 2019, May 4–9, 2019, Glasgow, Scotland, UK reach perfection and asserting their own normality by lems occurred once initial contact had been made [10]. Is- comparing their able-bodiness to those who are disabled sues of trust, disclosing personal information, and [44]. The disabled body becomes the oppressed body, understanding the norms of the social platform made when they are denied access (advertently or inadvertent- online socialization difficult [10]. Mazurek et al. studied ly), not only in a social sense, but also in a literal, physical adults with autism and their social media use, finding a sense. Children who do not conform to the normative em- majority used the social networking sites for social con- bodied experience of play, then, are not invited to the nections, as opposed to other activities such as reading the game. This is done both literally and through the crafting news or playing games [42]. of play objects that a disabled body cannot use. Use of social media can empower and increase inde- Among other activities, individuals with disabilities use pendence for those with disabilities, but this is not a online spaces to socialize—empowering themselves to do universal experience. In one literature review, 38 out of 54 what they may not be able to in the physical world. articles about social media and virtual world use by indi- Online spaces afford different embodied experiences than viduals with disabilities were focused on inclusion, do physical spaces. In this ethnographic work, I explore exclusion, and empowerment [61]. A scholarly focus tends how one community uses the sense of place and the digi- to be on what technology may do for individuals with dis- tal embodied experience in a virtual world specifically to abilities, with an emphasis on how the technology acts to give autistic children access to play with their peers. One support the disabled user. Researchers place much less type of mediated experience is not better (or less mediat- emphasis on understanding disabled users’ relationship ed) than another. Rather, these experiences, from face-to- with technology—how a user feels about or acts to change face to text to avatars on a computer screen, are diverse their technology. This leads to the “inadvertent propaga- kinds of embodied experiences. tion of an ‘impairment as problem/technology as solution’ The contributions of this work are twofold. First, I dynamic” [11]. This is exacerbated when individuals with demonstrate how various physical and virtual spaces disabilities are offered children’s version of software be- work together to make play possible. Second, I demon- cause it is simpler to use, but can infantilize the user [49]. strate these spaces, though some of them are digital, are Social media can empower individual users and create a no more or less “real” than the physical spaces making up sense of agency, but as Disability Studies scholars have a schoolyard or playground. noted, the tendency to infantilize disabled individuals can have far-reaching negative consequences [36]. Young adults and adults with disability need access to age appro- 2 RELATED WORK priate, yet still accessible technology to enjoy the same To ground this work in previous literature, in the follow- privileges as others who can easily access these social me- ing sections, I review social media for individuals with dia technologies. disabilities and scholarly work on virtual worlds and mul- Overall, youth are spending more time socializing tiplayer digital games. For scholars, our understanding online, including youth with disabilities [60]. Social media, and definitions of disability impact the research conducted including blogs and forums, are useful as social supports, in the space of social media and games for individuals providing connection to others in similar situations, and with disability. This section covers social media that in- advice for individuals who may not have access to such cludes social networking sites, messaging (including email support in the physical world [61]. Söderström inter- and instant messaging), blogs, forums, as well as virtual viewed young adults with varying disabilities about their worlds and digital games [21]. online and offline social ties and found that patterns of social ties appeared different in youth with disabilities 2.1 Social Media for Individuals with Disabilities [60]. The offline and online social ties tend to be more In the field of HCI, research has mainly focused on the po- blurred together for these users, with less stark contrast tential benefits and disadvantages of social media, with an between online and offline interactions. This is not sur- implication that these systems are making up for the defi- prising given the trend for more youth in general to cits of the disabled individual user. These works do show socialize online [7,34]. Young adults with disabilities may the ways in which disabled users may or may not use so- rely on social interactions in virtual spaces more than oth- cial media and shed light on some of the reasons why.