Each of Timocco’s 45+ games has a variety of fine-tuning options that isolate and develop specific movements and skills for varying levels of ability.
As kids pop balloons, zap aliens or try to catch falling fruit, they don’t seem to notice just how much skill-building practice they’re getting.
How did Timocco’s team of interdisciplinary pediatric specialists sneak oodles of skills into our games? Read on to find out.
MOTOR SKILLS
Midline Crossing
Some of the games challenge the child to cross the mid-line of their bodies with their hands. In one game, for example, the child must collect objects from one side of the screen and use the same hand to place them in a basket on the opposite side, thus crossing the body’s vertical mid-section.
Body Awareness
The child must be aware of the position his/her hands throughout each game. The child’s hand movements are represented on the screen, which helps them understand how their movements influence their performance.
Bilateral Coordination
In different Timocco games, the child needs to synchronize the movement of both hands to pass to the next level in the game. This action of both hands working together, improves the child’s bi-lateral coordination.
Hand-eye Coordination
The child must maintain a constant awareness of his/her hands’ position in relation to the objects that have to be reached. The child observes and coordinates hand movements accordingly, while constantly adjusting and reacting to the changing pace and location of the stimuli.
Balance
Control the location of stimuli in every game; stimuli appearing at the center of the screen require less sideways body movements, while objects located at the edges of the screen encourage the child to challenge their balance by re-adjusting their center of gravity.
Reaction Speed
Every game requires the child to react to new stimuli at a changing pace. The therapist can adapt this to meet each child’s specific needs and pace of progress. By grading the level of difficulty, the child has the opportunity to improve reaction times in an encouraging and experiential environment.
Posture & Upper Body Strength
While playing, the child must hold their hands up in the air, working against gravity to improve muscle tone and strengthen the upper extremities. The child’s high motivation leads to a dramatic improvement in not only the hands , but also the entire bodily posture.
Range of Motion
When playing Timocco, the child should stand or sit in a position that allows maximum range of motion. The child’s goal is to reach for objects all around the screen, an activity that challenges and improves the upper extremities range of motion. An important option in the game is the option to adapt the range of motion to the individual child’s range of motion, whether the child is standing in front of the screen or sitting in a wheel chair.
Motor Control & Accuracy
The Timocco gaming platform requires the child to control their hand movements. Some games require precise and accurate hand movements, improving the child’s motor control.
COGNITIVE SKILLS
Visual Perception & Discrimination
The child is able to sharpen visual learning and attention skills by distinguishing between different colors and shapes, as well as between distracters and relevant stimuli.
Categorization
The child learns to use classification to understand an object’s attributes. For example, in one game, the child must collect fruit by extending their hand upwards and then select the matching basket in which to place the fruit.
Attention
The child learns how to direct attention towards the relevant stimuli and to maintain focus on the activity. Playing Timocco has proved to be helpful for children with ADHD to become more attentive and focus not only during the games, but also after the session.
Memory of Sequences
Improving visual and auditory sequence memory can greatly impact a child’s learning abilities. In one game, Timocco, the monkey, sits at a kitchen table surrounded by kitchenware. The child must both listen and observe a sequence that is played out using the various items and then repeat it.
Early Learning
Timocco provides the therapist with tools for early learning of numbers, letters and quantities.
Cause & Effect
all about this here
Executive Function
all about this here
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Cooperation
all about cooperation & taking turns here
Joint Attention
all about this here