My 4 year old loves video games...

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Firstly, let me say I'm not the type that shelters my children. I teach them right from wrong and let them make their own choices.

My son loves playing first person shooters, platformers and puzzle games. Since my son was so recently diagnosed, I've been talking to people with experience in Autism. They suggest being very attentive and engaging. I sit there next to my son and watch him play, but I'm wondering if that's enough?

Video games are something he shows great interest. He plays them well. I'm wondering if video games are a positive thing for people with Autism?

I just want to make sure the things I do with my child are helping him and not hindering him.

Just make sure he doesn't get addicted to video games to the point where he won't do anything else and he should be fine. I think video games can help with things like hand-eye coordination and problem solving abilities. There are also a number of educational video games available you you think he'd actually want to play those.

You could also try playing multiplayer games with him in addition to simply watching him play. When I was a kid, my mom would sometimes play video games with my brother and me.

While everybody should be allowed time to engaged in his or her preferred activities, it is critical that your son get actual face time with you, interacting, seeing facial expressions, engaging in social problem solving, pretend play etc. It is often hard for boys (AS or not) to just sit and talk with someone, so doing an activity that is cooperative or even parallel, that you can interact while doing is great. Depending on age and skill levles, playing legos, coloring, building a model, playing with playdough, etc. all offer opportunities to say things like - "hey, pass me the ____." "what are you making?" "Do you like my ______?" They also allow opportunities to use eye contact in a communicative manner. Video games require so much visual attention, that they do not allow for practice of skills such as visual referencing to see what you are talking about, checking in with eye contact to see if you are being understood by the other person and so on. So over all, yes - sitting with him while he plays is good, but actually doing something to interact on a more sophisticated level can bring it a level higher.

as far as whether or not they are good for someone with AS - All things in moderation, for everyone, AS or not.

Good luck and keep at it!

Thank you both, for the great replies and suggestions. I think I will try to pull my son away from the video games and try more activities to interact with him in. There is a Lego MMO game coming out soon that looks amazing. He loves legos, so I might try that from time to time. He certainly could play WoW, but thats a game that involves too much time, for me.

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Mother of a 4 year old who was diagnosed with HFA on 1/6/09. I'm just here trying to understand, and soak in.

play castle crashers with him!

:O. the new mario brothers wasn't even good!. i hate the new nintendo. (fanboy rage alert) raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh nintendo raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh blargharghargh raaaar.

sorry about that i just needed to express how much i dislike nintendo

I played video games when I was four. Let him do it, it's going to bring lots of nostalgia when he's older, and I personally couldn't get through life without nostalgia.

Video games are fun, relaxing and entertaining.

Although, when I started playing video games, horror games looked like big blobs of pizels, now they could scar him for life.

I think video games can be great and very engaging. Also expand this to other types of technology.
Online games can be great for social interaction but monitoring must be done
If your son likes video games he is likely to be into computers which can become a great learning experience.
I remember when I was little and first learned Basic (a programming language) and could make my own little games. Kids today need to know how to use the internet and other computer programs to inform and work. Maybe there is a way for your son to express himself in these.
I know i love making powerpoints and working on photoshop.
Making and editing websites is also fun.
(all this is just future good video games can lead too)
Just remember even I can sit and totally forget time and space.....seriously i can play for hours without noticing.
I know i need to get out and move but unless someone brings me out of my "daze"...i won't

I liked the new Mario Bros...

But anyway, I think video games are a good thing. My boyfriend got me a Nintendo DS for Christmas and I've been playing constantly since. It's been good for my hand-eye coordination, which was...well, very poor. As long as you know they're appropriate games and he doesn't play too long, they should be fine. At this age, you might want to get him some arcade games like Space Invaders or something. What gaming systems do you have?

I would recommend that your son finishes the games to the end. Once finished with the game look back at what was missed. Secrets, times, challenges, but I would discourage cheating though. Finishing the game should help teach that everything should be seen through to completion.

Maybe a variety of different games. There is always a particular favourite one likes to come back to time and time again. but I would still suggest not spending so much time on it though.

You could do a timing thing . . . give him a timer and and set it for x minutes/hours he can play before getting off the computer/console. But do NOT force some games . . . my parents made the mistake of trying to force education games on us and its been a bad taste in our mouth since. Do go for some variety, and if you want to ensure a good experience for his skills go to places like gamefaqs.com or ign.com to get some reviews. Since he's 4, im not sure what level of difficulty he seems to handle well, but luckily many games have difficulty settings. If he can read pretty well, I recommend some strategy games (Command and Conquer comes to mind, or Starcraft). First Person Shooters are good for reflexes, but most of them are for the older crowds. Role-Playing could be a good one, but they have a pretty steep learning curve. Its good that you are participating with him, but it might be a good idea for you to play some of his games too . . . when he gets older, he'll likely want a human opponent (assuming he doesnt have any siblings). Oh, and before i forget, make sure he understands that these are just games and are not to be taken seriously . . . will make him a more respected player as he grows (and will keep him out of trouble in real life).

I'm going to say final fantasy.

When I was a little older than your son I loved final fantasy games, not so much now though.

The music in them is top notch and there is some thinking involved, it also explained emotion to a me a bit.

In particular ff7/8 did that.