Minecraft Stimulates Social Growth for Cincinnati Students
While COVID-19 may be hindering the development of new social bonds, students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Cincinnati are using the popular video game Minecraft to come together and build friendships.
Created by Caitlyn Lynch, lead intervention specialist at The Children’s Home of Cincinnati, the Minecraft Club serves as a way for local students to interact through their mutual love for the game. Minecraft is a sandbox game, meaning there are minimal limitations on what players can do, allowing students to have unlimited creativity while making friends along the way. Lynch herself is a lover of the game and shares this passion with her students.
Lynch shared with WCPO News, “Not only do you get that joy, that passion, being excited to have a club that’s about one of their favorite topics, it also encourages creativity.”
With weekly club assignments, students gather together virtually to complete educational tasks while building a community within the game. Through this program, students are simultaneously learning social skills and academic knowledge.
Max Siekman, soon to be the student president of the Minecraft Club, described his experience with WCPO News, saying “It’s been making me feel happy and making me feel good, and it’s been helping me with all the stress I have. We have a lot in common in Minecraft, and we like talking about a lot of the same stuff.”
Siekman, like many other students, uses Minecraft to not only create friendships but also to escape reality, which for him can sometimes be stressful and intimidating. Groups like the Minecraft Club create a safe space for students with ASD to relax and enjoy themselves while making friends and learning new skills.
Lynch loves watching her students get along and build together. She tells WCPO News, “Hearing them help each other kind of deal with those frustrations, that stress, like, 'Hey man, it’s cool. What can we do to help you?' I think, was really awesome to watch.”
There are many reasons that Minecraft is the number one selling video game in the world, such as its limitless nature and the ability to make the game your own, so it is no surprise that can help students with autism come together and build a community while enjoying the endless possibilities that the game has to offer. Clubs like the Minecraft Club should be implemented in more autism programs in schools to achieve the same successes as The Children’s Home of Cincinnati and allow students with autism to flourish.