Fred Rogers Productions is celebrating Autism Acceptance Month with a new free web-based game, Cousin Hodie Playdate.
(Fred Rogers Productions)
What’s Happening:
- Inspired by the hit PBS KIDS puppet series Donkey Hodie, a spin-off of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood from Fred Rogers Productions and Spiffy Pictures, comes the new free-to-play online game Cousin Hodie Playdate.
- The game was designed to help develop empathy in all kids, but neurodiverse children were also in mind.
- Cousin Hodie Playdate was created as a low-pressure way for children to practice recognizing and identifying their own feelings and those of their peers.
- The game is an open-ended “sandbox” experience featuring Donkey Hodie and her newly introduced relative, Cousin Hodie.
- As Donkey and Cousin play “Dinko Doodle Disc Drop,” players are asked to guess how Cousin Hodie is feeling based on his body language, verbalizations, and scenarios related to different emotions.
- Kids will have fun adding toys to the board and dropping discs while being offered opportunities to understand and express big feelings.
- Parents or caregivers can customize the experience by clicking the gear icon in the upper left-hand corner. They can tailor the game to a child’s individual sensory needs, including the ability to control audio elements (sound effects, music, voiceover), visual stimuli (reduced visual effects, contrast settings), speed of play, and omit certain emotions (happy, mad, sad, calm, silly, worried).
- Similar accessibility features can also be found in previous Donkey Hodie games, including Webby Honoree Detective Donkey.
- Among the game’s advisors was User Experience Researcher Carleá Jean Magee, who identifies as neurodiverse and has a background in psychology, clinical counseling, and applied behavior analysis.
- Visit pbskids.org/donkeyhodie/games to play Cousin Hodie Playdate, Detective Donkey, and other games from the Land of Someplace Else.