University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Together Tales: Designing inclusive storytelling games with generative AI to foster neurodiverse socialization

Xiao, Yiqi

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129789

Description

Title
Together Tales: Designing inclusive storytelling games with generative AI to foster neurodiverse socialization
Author(s)
Xiao, Yiqi
Issue Date
2025-05-09
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Briggs, Molly
Committee Member(s)
  • Garcia, Juan Salamanca
  • Hetrick, Laura
  • Starks, Katryna
  • Pridemore, Joshua
Department of Study
Art & Design
Discipline
Art and Design
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.F.A.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
  • Autistic Children
  • Generative AI
  • Neurodiversity
  • Social Skills
  • Educational Game
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Generative Image Models
  • Storytelling
  • Peer Relationships
  • Structured Collaborative Learning
  • Participatory Design
  • Neurodiverse Collaboration
  • Inclusive Education.
Abstract
This MFA thesis in Design for Responsible Innovation includes three peer-reviewed conference short papers and one short paper accepted as a poster, each presented at a national or international conference in the fields of serious games and learning sciences. These works collectively address the overarching question of how to foster meaningful social interaction between autistic children and their non-autistic peers in digital environments. By integrating generative AI (GenAI) technologies, the research explores the potential of AI-enhanced collaborative storytelling in supporting peer collaboration—and in facilitating collaboration between children and adults—as one possible response to this question from the author’s perspective. The papers center on an in-progress game, Together Tales, which serves not only as a design prototype but also as a case study of a participatory design process aimed at promoting child-centered digital environments, offering valuable inspiration for future game designs with similar goals. Together, these works reflect the author’s deep engagement with design and autism research and demonstrate the potential of experimental, interdisciplinary approaches.
Graduation Semester
2025-05
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129789
Copyright and License Information
Copyright © 2025 Yiqi Xiao. Portions of this thesis are based on previously published articles and articles pending publication. All rights reserved.

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