Puppet Show System for Children With Hearing Disability: Evaluation of Story Participation Function With Physical Movement
Abstract: In this research, we evaluated Puppet Theater, a puppet show that uses a system based on inclusive design to allow children with and without hearing disabilities to enjoy watching together. Two characteristics of Puppet Theater are use of a dialogue projection function to make a visual rendering in written form of the dialogue, which is delivered as audio information and a story participation function in which children use physical movement to choose the direction for the story’s development. The results of an evaluation study of a group of children with hearing disabilities and a group of normal children showed that the Puppet Theater’s story participation function promoted the story world-perspective and sense of empathy with characters to an equal degree in both groups.