Introduction to Therapeutic Games with Unity 3D (September 20 – 21)

Therapeutic games play an increasingly important role in modern healthcare. Games have been used to treat a broad spectrum of individuals, including individuals with dementia, stroke, ADHD, cancer, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to name a few. We will survey autism research and evidence-based case studies. This workshop will introduce participants to the fundamentals of therapeutic game development with a focus on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and mental health applications.

Participants will learn introduction to scripting and develop a simple mental health game using the popular Unity game engine. They will work in teams and will be involved in problem solving discussions to design a game to benefit people with autism. Participants will share reflections and discuss how contemporary technologies can inspire novel forms of healthcare.

This workshop is open for high school students, college students and community members over the age of 16 interested in games for healthcare. It will introduce the basics of coding and scripting and is designed for participants with no prior programming experience but an enthusiasm to learn about therapeutic games.

When: September 20 (9am-4pm) and September 21 (9am-1pm), 2019

What to bring: personal laptop with Unity (free version available on Unity website)

Cost: Free

For accessibility accommodations please contact Marcia Lampela  at mlampela@uillinois.edu or 217-300-7457

For more information and tickets visit the event page 

Lectures and tutorials will be provided by the following:
• Maureen Dunne (University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Disability and Human Development)
• Daria Tsoupikova (University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Design, Electronic Visualization Laboratory)

Accommodation: There is no official lodging for this professional development workshop. However, participants can stay at the nearby Chicago Downtown hotels such as La Quinta (1 South Franklin).

Sponsors: Discovery Partners Institute (DPI)
Funded by a grant from DPI to the Department of Disability and Human Development