I2I Phase I: Liberi: An Exergaming System to Improve Physical and Social Wellness in Children with Disabilities

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Children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder frequently have low levels of physical activity and can experience social isolation. Many of these children cannot participate in activities created for typically-developing children due to deficits in gross and fine motor skills, visual-spatial processing, and executive function. To provide better opportunities for physical and social activity, researchers from Queen's University and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital have developed Liberi - an innovative exergame created specifically for children with neurodevelopment disorders. Liberi is a pedal-to-play video game where pedaling a recumbent bike moves an avatar within a video game world composed of seven mini-games accessed through a shared island portal. Liberi allows children to play together over a network while exercising. Liberi has been trialed extensively with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including in children's homes, hospitals, an after-care program, and an elementary school. Liberi was shown to provide levels of exercise similar to organized sports while providing an enjoyable social experience. Based on these results, the team has engaged with Queen's Partnerships and Innovation and Bloorview Research Institute to make the games available to the public. Before Liberi is ready for commercial deployment, work remains to be done. In this project, we will provide facilities for non-verbal communication to ease use by children with autism spectrum disorder. We will improve player balancing in the games, allowing children with different fine motor skills to play together. And we will develop monitoring tools that allow clinics to administer operation of the games in their own settings. Meanwhile, we will work with our industrial partner Canadian Tire Corporation on the design of an accessible exergaming bicycle that can be offered to families at affordable cost.