Eye Contact - Zoo

✩FizzBrains "Look in My Eyes" series featured on "60 Minutes" October 23, 2011!✩
Is eye contact an issue for your child? "Eye Contact - Zoo" helps children practice this social skill – while earning rewards in a virtual zoo!

The game, designed for children affected by autism and Aspergers Syndrome, rewards children for quickly focusing in on a persons eyes. Through repeated practice we attempt to develop a habit that families can transfer to real life settings.

We have many years of close personal experience with children who have Aspergers Syndrome and we believe eye contact is a cultural norm that can be learned with practice. But we also respect parents who disagree. Some families feel that promoting eye contact may make it more difficult for children to process auditory information. Others feel children should not mold themselves to a societal standard. We understand this choice.

But we want the children we work with to approximate typical social behaviors as much as possible, and we know there are many other parents who feel the same. Because our culture values eye contact in social interactions we want to help children foster this skill – and what better way than with a motivating game! If you share our perspective, give "Eye Contact - Zoo" a try. And please let us know what you think!

Of course, we can make no guarantees that practicing with a game will affect real behavior. But you can enhance your childs ability to transfer this skill from game to reality by prompting him with comments like, "Remember how you practice in the game?" You could also extend the game by offering small tangible rewards - stickers, tickets and the like - when your child uses appropriate eye contact.

All the best!
- David and Abbie at FizzBrain.com

Reviews for FizzBrain apps:

★★★★★ "My 5-year-old autistic son loves playing with my I-Phone and Ive downloaded many different games for him. As soon as I downloaded Look In My Eyes it became a new favorite. He loves playing it. His eye contact is definitely improving. Im not sure if I can give sole credit for that to this game, but the game sure doesnt hurt! Great game!"

★★★★★ "My 7 year old really enjoyed this app. At first he resisted making eye contact but eventually turned his head and was so excited when he would get the answers correct. Not only does this game help with eye contact but with number recognition which is a struggle for my little guy. Thank you FizzBrain and please keep up the great work!"

★★★★★ "My son has autism and I have tried many other games for him to play on my iPhone. Some hold his interest for a short while, but many do not. This game is definitely one that did from the start!"

★★★★★ "Thank you once again FizzBrain, for creating another great tool to help teach eye contact! My son loves this game even more than the garage/car version (which is saying something!). I highly recommend this to everyone out there looking to help their autistic child!"

Check out our other eye contact and social skills games on iTunes - search for FizzBrain or go to FizzBrain.com!