CogSim – Cognitive Disability Simulation

This Unity module, part of the zefwih.research namespace, implements a cognitive disability simulation for ADHD, Dyslexia, and Autism. It presents participants with visual stimuli trying to simulate the effects of these disabilities. The module is versatile, allowing for customization of settings, making it suitable for various experimental setups.

ADHD

ADHD is simulated by scaling the objects in the scene. One can modify values for each object.

Each of these values has a default setting that we have found to be effective, but you may need to experiment to find what works best for your specific needs. It is important not to use negative scaling values because of potential errors in unity.

The scaling value is applied as follows: original Scale ⋅ ( 1 + scaling value). The animation duration indicates the time that an object remains scaled before returning to its original size. This parameter determines the duration of the scaling effect.

Autism

Autism is simulated by flashing lights and "blinking" UI-elements. Similar to the ADHD simulation, you have the flexibility to adjust certain values in this case as well. Specifically, you can modify the Light chance to blink, the UI chance to blink, and the blink duration.

In this context blinking refers to reducing and resetting of colour intensity after a specific duration (blink duration), creating a blinking effect.

The Light chance to blink represents the likelihood of the global lighting to blink, while the UI chance to blink refers to the probability of each individual UI element to blink. Therefore, it is recommended to set the UI chance to blink to a lower value compared to the Light chance to blink.

The Blink Duration indicates the duration of each blink effect, determining how long the blink should last.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is simulated by scrambling the letters of a word to make it more challenging to read.

In the Dyslexia simulation, you can adjust the speed at which the letters swap positions (Speed of Swapping). A lower value indicates slower movement, while a higher value means faster movement. The range for this parameter is between 0 and 1.

It is important to note that the first and last letters of a word should not be changed during the simulation. Preserving these letters allows for better readability, as they are crucial in word recognition.

For further reading and scientific background, see:

Wadlington, E., Elliot, C., & Kirylo, J. (2008). The dyslexia simulation: Impact and implications. Literacy Research and Instruction, 47(4), 264-272.

Rowland, D. (2020). Redefining autism. Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Brain Research, 2020(01).

Groß, S., Lam, A. P., Matthies, S., & Philipsen, A. (2016). Therapie der ADHS unter Berücksichtigung psychotherapeutischer Studien. InFo Neurologie & Psychiatrie, 18(3), 32-39.

Hassan, R. (2020). Digitality, virtual reality and the ‘empathy machine’. Digital journalism, 8(2), 195-212.

We are always interested in scientific collaborations. Please reach out to contact@zefwih.com