Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

DIESEL-X: A Game-Based Tool for Early Risk Detection of Dyslexia in Preschoolers

  • Chapter
Describing and Studying Domain-Specific Serious Games

Part of the book series: Advances in Game-Based Learning ((AGBL))

Abstract

DIESEL-X is a computer game that was developed to detect a high risk for developing dyslexia in preschoolers. The game includes three mini-games that test the player on three skills that are considered to yield outcome measures that predict the onset of dyslexia: the detection threshold of frequency modulated tones, a test on phonological awareness in which the player has to identify words that have the same phonetic ending, and a test on letter knowledge. In order to keep the motivation of the player high during testing, these tests are embedded in a computer game. We discuss the participatory design process that was adopted to design and develop the game, the rationale behind the design decisions, and we describe the resulting games.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    http://unity3d.com/

  2. 2.

    http://www.autodesk.com/products/3ds-max/overview

  3. 3.

    http://www.photoshop.com/

  4. 4.

    In fact, giving feedback that is neutral turned out to be difficult as children tend to interpret feedback signals as positive or negative anyhow. Several iterations were necessary to design this feedback that was perceived as neutral. As a consequence, during play tests children sometimes turned to the test administrator to ask whether their selection was correct.

References

  • Bailey, P. J., & Snowling, M. J. (2002). Auditory processing and the development of language and literacy. British Medical Bulletin, 63(1), 135–146. doi:10.1093/bmb/63.1.135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barendregt, W., Bouwhuis, D., de Ridder, H., & Bekker, M. (2006). Evaluating fun and usability in computer games with children. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. Retrieved from http://library.tue.nl/catalog/LinkToVubis.csp?DataBib=6:602065.

  • Beyer, H., & Holtzblatt, K. (1997). Contextual design: A customer-centered approach to systems designs (1st ed.). New York, NY: Morgan Kaufmann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boets, B., Ghesquière, P., van Wieringen, A., & Wouters, J. (2007). Speech perception in preschoolers at family risk for dyslexia: Relations with low-level auditory processing and phonological ability. Brain and Language, 101(1), 19–30. doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2006.06.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boets, B., Wouters, J., van Wieringen, A., Desmedt, B., & Ghesquière, P. (2008). Modelling relations between sensory processing, speech perception, orthographic and phonological ability, and literacy achievement. Brain and Language, 106(1), 29–40. doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2007.12.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boets, B., Wouters, J., van Wieringen, A., & Ghesquière, P. (2006a). Auditory temporal information processing in preschool children at family risk for dyslexia: Relations with phonological abilities and developing literacy skills. Brain and Language, 97(1), 64–79. doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2005.07.026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boets, B., Wouters, J., van Wieringen, A., & Ghesquière, P. (2006b). Coherent motion detection in preschool children at family risk for dyslexia. Vision Research, 46(4), 527–535. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2005.08.023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, L., & Bryant, P. E. (1983). Categorizing sounds and learning to read: A causal connection. Nature, 301(5899), 419–421. doi:10.1038/301419a0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Celis, V., Husson, J., Abeele, V. V., Loyez, L., Van den Audenaeren, L., Ghesquière, P., … Geurts, L. (2013). Translating preschoolers’ game experiences into design guidelines via a laddering study. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (pp. 147–156). New York, NY: ACM. doi:10.1145/2485760.2485772.

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: defining gamification. In Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments (pp. 9–15). Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2181040.

  • Eder, D., & Fingerson, L. (2002). Interviewing children and adolescents. In J. F. Gubrium & J. A. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research: Context and method (pp. 181–201). Thousand oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farmer, M. E., & Klein, R. M. (1995). The evidence for a temporal processing deficit linked to dyslexia: A review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2(4), 460–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, A., & Nicolson, R. (1995). Dyslexia in children: Multidisciplinary perspectives. London, England: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferwerda, J., & Rehon, B. (2007). MagnoFly: Game-based screening for dyslexia. Journal of Vision, 7(9), 520. doi:10.1167/7.9.520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, M. (2005). Children and adolescents as respondents. Experiments on question order, response order, scale effects and the effect of numeric values associated with response options. Journal of Official Statistics, 21(4), 701–725.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaggi, O., Galiazzo, G., Palazzi, C., Facoetti, A., & Franceschini, S. (2012). A serious game for predicting the risk of developmental dyslexia in pre-readers children. In 2012 21st International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN) (pp. 1–5). doi:10.1109/ICCCN.2012.6289249.

  • Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1403961697.

  • Gersons-Wolfensberger, D. C. M., & Ruijssenaars, W. A. J. J. M. (1997). Definition and treatment of dyslexia: A report by the committee on dyslexia of the health council of the Netherlands. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(2), 209–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597–607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanna, L., Neapolitan, D., & Risden, K. (2004). Evaluating computer game concepts with children. In Proceedings of the 2004 conference on Interaction design and children: building a community (pp. 49–56). College Park, MD: ACM. doi:10.1145/1017833.1017840.

  • Hintikka, S., Mikko, A., & Lyytinen, H. (2005). Computerized training of the correspondences between phonological and orthographic units. Written Language and Literacy, 8(2), 79–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulme, C., Bowyer-Crane, C., Carroll, J. M., Duff, F. J., & Snowling, M. J. (2012). The causal role of phoneme awareness and letter-sound knowledge in learning to read combining intervention studies with mediation analyses. Psychological Science, 23(6), 572–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juul, J. (2011). Half-real: Video games between real rules and fictional worlds. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirriemuir, J., & McFarlane, A. (2004). Literature review in games and learning. Bristol, England: Futurelab.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laneau, J., Boets, B., Moonen, M., van Wieringen, A., & Wouters, J. (2005). A flexible auditory research platform using acoustic or electric stimuli for adults and young children. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 142(1), 131–136. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2004.08.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lefly, D. L., & Pennington, B. F. (1991). Spelling errors and reading fluency in compensated adult dyslexics. Annals of Dyslexia, 41, 143–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyytinen, H., & Erskine, J. (2006, February 22). Early identification and prevention of reading problems. In Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Retrieved from http://www.enfant-encyclopedie.com/Pages/PDF/Lyytinen-ErskineANGxp.pdf.

  • Malone, T. W. (1980). What makes things fun to learn? Heuristics for designing instructional computer games. In Proceedings of the 3rd ACM SIGSMALL Symposium and the First SIGPC Symposium on Small Systems (pp. 162–169). ACM, New York, NY. doi:10.1145/800088.802839.

  • Markopoulos, P., & Bekker, M. (2003). Interaction design and children. Interacting with Computers, 15(2), 141–149. doi:10.1016/S0953-5438(03)00004-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McArthur, G. M., & Bishop, D. V. (2001). Auditory perceptual processing in people with reading and oral language impairments: Current issues and recommendations. Dyslexia, 7(3), 150–170. doi:10.1002/dys.200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBride-Chang, C. (1995). Phonological processing, speech perception, and reading disability: An integrative review. Educational Psychologist, 30(3), 109. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep3003_2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menell, P., McAnally, K. I., & Stein, J. (1999). Psychophysical sensitivity and physiological response to amplitude modulation in adult dyslexic listeners. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42(4), 797–803.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merzenich, M., Wright, B., Jenkins, W., Xerri, C., Byl, N., Miller, S., & Tallal, P. (1996). Cortical plasticity underlying perceptual, motor, and cognitive skill development: Implications for neurorehabilitation. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 61, 1–8. doi:10.1101/SQB.1996.061.01.003.

  • Michael, D. R., & Chen, S. L. (2005). Serious games: Games that educate, train, and inform. New York, NY: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, D. (1996). Focus groups as qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oudshoorn, N., & Pinch, T. (2003). How users matter: The Co-construction of users and technology (inside technology). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagulayan, R. J., Keeker, K., Wixon, D., Romero, R. L., & Fuller, T. (2003). User-centered design in games. In The human-computer interaction handbook: fundamentals, evolving technologies and emerging applications (pp. 883–906). L. Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=772072.772128&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=11163922&CFTOKEN=41481297.

  • Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plong, M., Vanden Abeele, V., & Geurts, L. (2014). Requirements for an Architecture of a Generic Health Game Data Management System. In B. Schouten, S. Fedtke, M. Schijven, M. Vosmeer, & A. Gekker (Eds.), Games for health 2014 (pp. 114–124). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-07141-7_16.

  • Prensky, M. (2001). Digital game-based learning. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramus, F. (2003). Developmental dyslexia: Specific phonological deficit or general sensorimotor dysfunction? Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 13(2), 212–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rello, L., Bayarri, C., & Gorriz, A. (2012). What is wrong with this word? Dyseggxia: A game for children with dyslexia. In Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (pp. 219–220). ACM, New York, NY. doi:10.1145/2384916.2384962.

  • Sailer, M., Hense, J., Mandl, H., & Klevers, M. (2013). Psychological perspectives on motivation through gamification. Interaction Design & Architectures, 19, 28–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2003). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaywitz, S. E. (1998). Dyslexia. New England Journal of Medicine, 338(5), 307–312. doi:10.1056/NEJM199801293380507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shute, V. J. (2011). Stealth assessment in computer-based games to support learning. Computer games and instruction, 55(2), 503–524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singleton, C., Thomas, K., & Horne, J. (2000). Computer-based cognitive assessment and the development of reading. Journal of Research in Reading, 23(2), 158–180. doi:10.1111/1467-9817.00112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M. J. (2000). Dyslexia (2nd Rev. ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steenbeek-Planting, E. G., Boot, M., Boer, J. C. de, Ven, M. V. de, Swart, N. M., & Hout, D. van der. (2013). Evidence-based psycholinguistic principles to remediate reading problems applied in the playful app Letterprins: A perspective of quality of healthcare on learning to read. In B. Schouten, S. Fedtke, T. Bekker, M. Schijven, & A. Gekker (Eds.), Games for health (pp. 281–291). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com.kuleuven.ezproxy.kuleuven.be/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-02897-8_22.

  • Stein, J., & Walsh, V. (1997). To see but not to read; the magnocellular theory of dyslexia. Trends in Neurosciences, 20(4), 147–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweetser, P., & Wyeth, P. (2005). GameFlow: A model for evaluating player enjoyment in games. Computers in Entertainment, 3(3), 3. doi:10.1145/1077246.1077253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talcott, J. B., & Witton, C. (2002). A sensory linguistic approach to the development of normal and impaired reading skills. In Neuropsychology and cognition series. Basic functions of language and language disorders. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talcott, J. B., Witton, C., McLean, M. F., Hansen, P. C., Rees, A., Green, G. G., & Stein, J. (2000). Dynamic sensory sensitivity and children’s word decoding skills. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97(6), 2952–2957. doi:10.1073/pnas.040546597.

  • Tallal, P., Miller, S. L., Bedi, G., Byma, G., Wang, X., Nagarajan, S. S., … Merzenich, M. M. (1996). Language comprehension in language-learning impaired children improved with acoustically modified speech. Science, 271(5245), 81–84. doi:10.1126/science.271.5245.81.

  • Temple, E., Deutsch, G. K., Poldrack, R. A., Miller, S. L., Tallal, P., Merzenich, M. M., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2003). Neural deficits in children with dyslexia ameliorated by behavioral remediation: Evidence from functional MRI. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100(5), 2860–2865. doi:10.1073/pnas.0030098100.

  • Vanden Abeele, V., Schutter, B., Geurts, L., Desmet, S., Wauters, J., Husson, J., … Geerts, D. (2012). P-III: A player-centered, iterative, interdisciplinary and integrated framework for serious game design and development. In S. Wannemacker, S. Vandercruysse, & G. Clarebout (Eds.), Serious games: The challenge (Vol. 280, pp. 82–86). Berlin, Germany: Springer. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/k66727215741j3t0/abstract/.

  • Vanden Abeele, V., & Van Rompaey, V. (2006). Introducing human-centered research to game design: designing game concepts for and with senior citizens. In CHI’06 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 1469–1474). ACM, Montréal, Québec, Canada. doi:10.1145/1125451.1125721.

  • Visser, F. S., Stappers, P. J., van der Lugt, R., & Sanders, E. B.-N. (2005). Contextmapping: Experiences from practice. CoDesign, 1(2), 119–149. doi:10.1080/15710880500135987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, H., & Sun, C.-T. (2011). Game reward systems: Gaming experiences and social meanings. In Proceedings of DiGRA 2011 Conference: Think Design Play (pp. 1–12). Citeseer. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.221.4931&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

  • Witton, C., Talcott, J. B., Hansen, P. C., Richardson, A. J., Griffiths, T. D., Rees, A., … Green, G. G. (1998). Sensitivity to dynamic auditory and visual stimuli predicts nonword reading ability in both dyslexic and normal readers. Current Biology: CB, 8(14), 791–797.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaman, B. (2008). Introducing contextual laddering to evaluate the likeability of games with children. Cognition, Technology & Work, 10(2), 107–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaman, B., & Abeele, V. V. (2010). Laddering with young children in user experience evaluations: Theoretical groundings and a practical case. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (pp. 156–165). New York, NY: ACM. doi:10.1145/1810543.1810561.

  • Zaman, B., & Vanden Abeele, V. (2007). Towards a likeability framework that meets child-computer interaction & communication sciences. In Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Interaction design and children (pp. 1–8). Aalborg, Denmark: ACM. doi:10.1145/1297277.1297279.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. e-Media Lab, KU Leuven, Andreas Vesaliusstraat 13, Leuven, 3000, Belgium

    Luc Geurts, Vero Vanden Abeele, Jelle Husson & Lieven Van den Audenaeren

  2. Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, L. Vanderkelenstraat 32, Box 3765, Leuven, 3000, Belgium

    Véronique Celis & Pol Ghesquière

  3. Department of Speech Language Pathology (MUCLA), University Hospitals Leuven Belgium, Kapucijnenvoer 33, Leuven, 3000, Belgium

    Leen Loyez & Ann Goeleven

  4. ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, Box 721, Leuven, 3000, Belgium

    Jan Wouters

Authors
  1. Luc Geurts
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vero Vanden Abeele
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Véronique Celis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jelle Husson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lieven Van den Audenaeren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Leen Loyez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Ann Goeleven
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jan Wouters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Pol Ghesquière
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luc Geurts .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Education and Training, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Joke Torbeyns

  2. Department of Teacher Education, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Erno Lehtinen

  3. Education and Training, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Jan Elen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Geurts, L. et al. (2015). DIESEL-X: A Game-Based Tool for Early Risk Detection of Dyslexia in Preschoolers. In: Torbeyns, J., Lehtinen, E., Elen, J. (eds) Describing and Studying Domain-Specific Serious Games. Advances in Game-Based Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20276-1_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation