How Minecraft Can Help Kids With Autism

We all know that in addition to Minecraft being incredibly fun, it’s also highly educational for kids; pushing their imaginations, social skills and problem-solving skills to create entire cities in the 3D block-building world of Minecraft. It’s a game that can be enjoyed by everyone, and has recently been gaining interest in kids with autism.

Kids with autism crave routine, familiarity and control over their environment which Minecraft provides, allowing them to explore an unknown world without giving up their safety. It gives them a voice through creating entire cities and helps them to practice interaction with their peers through collaboration and team-work, having to communicate, explore and work together.

In interviews done with kids affected by Autism, here are some of the reasons why Minecraft is their favourite game:

You can do what you want!

Go fishing, fight a dragon, create your own lava waterfall or build your own igloo. Anything goes!

There are no rules and definitely no right or wrong.

Blowing something up with TNT or building your own pirate ship and having a cannon battle would generally be defined as ‘wrong’ in real life. Not in Minecraft! Everything is on your own terms.

It simulates real life, but without the hassle and worries of real life problems.

Why not try surviving a whole night outside without weapons. Imagine all the mozzie bites you can avoid. How about recruiting some wolves to your pack -something that would be a lot more troublesome and problematic if you were doing it in real life.

It’s forgiving.

Like it’s 2D friend, Lego, things in Minecraft can be taken apart and put together again and again if you change your mind. Everything is easily manipulated and nothing is permanent.

What Next?

This Summer we have a number of workshops and courses that use Minecraft as a learning tool, teaching collaborative skills, coding and hardware in a way that young people can really connect with. Click the links below to find out more about our Big Tech Summer program events involving Minecraft…

REAL WORLD MINECRAFT

Use hardware like motors and microcontrollers and activate them with actions in Minecraft. Electronics combined with blockbuilding fun!

TEAM MINECRAFT

Collaborate of Minecraft EDU to excavate dinosaurs, build elaborate traps or invent with a team of up to 16

RASPBERRY MINECRAFT

Learn to code with MC Edit on the Raspberry Pi micro computer